In Deep
by Quiet Waters
Summary: In dire need of a baseball bat but having no way to afford one, Lynn borrows money from some guys to buy what she needs. But while Lynn likes to think that she can solve any problem on her own, she could be in far over her head this time with bad consequences this time.
1. Broke

**In Deep**

**Two new stories in just under two weeks? Heh, believe it or not but that's got to be a new record for me!**

**Like I said in the previous one, I've gotten plenty ideas of stories, and this is one of them!**

**Well, this is the start of my second Loud House story and I hope I'll do everything justice again! Favorite, follow, and leave a review if you like, or if you didn't like it! But if you do the latter, please stay polite!**

**I hope to update this soon, and if you're following Forced Staycation as well, the next chapter may be up in a few days!**

**Read away!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Broke**

* * *

_WHACK!_

There went another baseball flying to the other end of the batting cage, and Lynn Loud, the one responsible for its flight pumped her fist and cast a wicked, proud grin at another successful hit. Her friend Margo loaded another one into the pitching machine and Lynn effortlessly sentenced the ball that came flying at her to the same punishment. But unlike the ones that preceded it, this one marked a nice milestone for Lynn.

''That was the 119th consecutive hit! You almost beat the record, Lynn!'' Margo shouted at her from behind the machine.

''And I'm not even winded! Oh yeah! A-ha!'' Lynn cheered. Out of pride over her new record, she did a little dance routine, hopping around on one leg and pretended to play her trusty baseball bat as if it was a guitar not unlike what her sister Luna would do, running her hand over the wood, the small holes, scratches and dents all over and the band covering a crack at the middle of the bat that had been weathered down by many years of loyal service to her. After her dance, she hugged her bat out of sheer delight. ''You never let me down, Ruthie!'' She said affectionately with the wood pressed against her cheek.

''Hey Lynn! Are you going to marry your bat or try to top your best?'' Margo called, almost tauntingly so.

''Give me a second!'' Lynn energetically replied. Supersticious as she was, she had to perferm a good luck ritual before Lynn was to continue: She did a clockwise spin on one leg; a counter-clockwise spin back; shook her rump as she bent her knees and shot back up again; she tapped both of her heels five times with her bat and conclusively pointed it at the sky. Margo could only shake her head in disbelief over her friend's act, but was at least relieved that she wasn't forced to uphold them this time.

Lynn felt her confidence boosted so much, she felt like stepping up her game and making this record really worth it! ''Crank up the pitching speed, Margo! Give me a challenge!'' She demanded. Margo happily did as she was told and turned the knob up to its highest.

''Here it comes, Lynn!'' Margo announced.

''Bring it on, you piece of junk! I'm going to hit it all the way to Hazeltucky!'' She growled, tightening her grip on her bat with a vicious grin, full of anticipation for the meeting between leather and wood.

Margo loaded a ball into the machine with was shot almost immediately at Lynn with dazzling speed, but amazingly enough, Lynn perfectly timed her swing despite the ridiculous velocity. It was as if Lynn tried to live up to her boast and swung her trusted Ruthie more powerfully than she ever had before in her life, and the ball collided with the wood right on the band in the middle. The crack that the band covered could not cope with so much force, and Ruthie succumbed in the clash of these two powers. The blow was so powerful that Lynn flinched, and once she came to her senses, she realized that in her grasp was only the hilt of her prized club. Horrified, she looked at the ground and quickly found the other splintered half.

''Ruthie!'' Lynn wailed in terror. She fell to her knees and desperately tried to piece the two halves back together as if she was trying to save someone dear from dying.

For once, the fact that Lynn didn't beat a record was only trivial; her bat Ruthie was special to her; more than anything else of her sports gear. She got Ruthie for her seventh birthday. It was a size too big for her, but Lynn achieved some of her biggest baseball hallmarks with it like her first homerun or winning her first tournament. Lynn thought she would never settle for another bat again. But here she was with two chipped pieces of wood that couldn't be fixed anymore; Ruthie was done for.

Margo approached slowly, she knew how much Ruthie meant for Lynn.

''Lynn, I'm so sorry for you.''

''No. I should've put her to rest much earlier.'' Lynn mumbled sadly, surprisingly quick on her resolve as she held her broken bat. Her friend then threw an arm around her and gently pulled Lynn along.

''Come on, I'll treat you to some burgers!'' Margo offered.

''Yeah, I'd like that.'' Lynn said with a faint smile, hoping some food would cheer her up from her loss.

But as they went out on the street and appreached the burger joint, a certain nervousness crept onto Lynn. She owed a lot of her successes to Ruthie, but now that she was permantly out of commission, Lynn no longer had a bat of her own. She could always borrow one from her baseball team, the Squirrels, but that wasn't the same. Lynn was confident in her own skill, but she believed that only with Ruthie could she utilize that to its full potential. There was an important match coming up against the Beaverton Glory and Lynn's expression turned pale at the thought that she couldn't be at her A-game and even more horrific, cost them the championship!

Lynn initially tried to shake this mental image, but it kept coming back, stronger, more intense. She had to get a new bat that would suit her, and no one could convince her otherwise. Fuelled by her superstition, she abandoned Margo in a hurry.

''Lynn? Where're you going?''

''Get some burgers without me! I need to get a bat!'' Lynn declared, sure in her belief, before she ran for the nearest sports store.

* * *

In the store, Lynn sprinted to the baseball section and didn't care who or what she had to bowl over to get there, she was in a hurry! Immediately, she began to meticulously examine all the bats within her reach, but found that they all did not live up to her high standards.

''Too heavy! Too grainy! Too short! Already broken!'' Lynn said, discarding a bat almost immediately once she had pulled it out of the bin. Within moments, all sorts of baseball bats were scattered over the floor.

Lynn had almost emptied the bin out and was about to continue her mad search in another store when her eye fell on a display case up on the wall. There, she instantly knew, stood her new ball park companion; A sleek, dark bat with subtle decals. It looked strong and the light reflected off its glossy finish into Lynn's eyes. Just looking at this majestic piece of equipment made her all but forget about Ruthie. She was so mesmerized by its excellence that she wasn't aware of an employee approaching her.

The employee was actually there to evict her for making a mess of the store, but seeing that twinkle in Lynn's eyes, he knew he had a guaranteed sale.

''Can I help you?'' The employee asked, though he knew it was all but a formality and _knew_ he could help her.

''Yeah! I want that bat!'' Lynn ecstatically answered, pointing at her new love. With a smile, the employee unlocked the vitrine and presented the bat to a breathless Lynn.

''The Gregorius Slugger III limited edition series! You have taste! A 30-inch composite bat has a reinforced carbon fiber polymer that makes it light but very durable!'' The salesman explained, which he followed up with a practice swing to further rile Lynn up. ''A thin layer of varnish makes that this beaut can go for years without even getting a scratch!''

The explanation wasn't exactly needed, but it fuelled Lynn's enthusiasm even more. ''Yeah yeah, I'll take it!'' She impatiently proclaimed as she shook visibly.

''It's yours for 50 dollars!''

She stopped shaking and looked up at the clerk. ''50 bucks?'' Lynn repeated with minor shock as she was firmly planted back on earth after having been hovering on cloud nine.

In her blissful daze, Lynn forgot that money and paying was a crucial part of getting sports equipment; money that she didn't have at the moment and even if she did, there were at least eight people at home claiming their right to it. Loaning happened frequently among the siblings, so any debts were tightly monitored. Lynn was currently in the red with all of them and was very sure she couldn't extend her debt. She even owed their family dog Charles for taking his bone to use as a relay baton. There was also no way for Lynn to even earn anything as there was currently a low demand for babysitting jobs among their customer base.

''I haven't got any cash on me right now, but I'll come back with the money!'' She nervously assured before she walked away; if she hadn't treated her sports teams to after-match Burpin' Burger so often, maybe then she'd have enough to buy it.

She sauntered out of the store as she began thinking of ideas to get money; she _needed_ that bat, as soon as possible. It felt like her future depended on it. As she moped, a couple of boys from the other side of the street saw her leaving the store, and her body language aroused their interests.

''Hey!'' A boyish voice called out to Lynn. She looked over her shoulder to see two pretty tall boys of Lori's age approaching her. ''What's up with you sport?''

Lynn sullenly stuffed her hands in her pockets. ''What's it to you?''

''Curiosity.''

Lynn raised an eyebrow at this stranger's interest in her, but maybe it'd make her feel a little better if she shared her anguish. ''I need a new bat and they're selling this amazing one that I want!''

''What's so special about this bat?'' The boy asked with his sugary voice, seemingly having genuine interest in Lynn's woe.

''It's one of the most beautiful and perfect bats I have ever seen! The texture is perfect, the hilt is perfect! I could almost _taste_ its perfection! With it, I may never lose a game again even if I tried!'' Lynn described, briefly becoming awestruck with the image of her playing a match in her mind and dominating it in every aspect and definition before she soon returned to her sullen self. ''But I'll need 50 big ones to buy it and there's no way I can get that money!''

The boys exchanged quick, sideway glances. ''What if _we_ give you those 50 dollars?'' The boy proposed, his offer taking Lynn completely by surprise.

''You're kidding me!'' She stammered.

''That's the good thing; we're not!'' He assured her, followed by him jerking a thumb over his shoulder to his friend. ''That's Franklin and I'm William. We love to provide youngsters like you with cash to see them happy! Like how we can help you buy that awesome bat that's totally going to make you Royal Woods' own batting wonder!'' He stated, confident in his own promise that seemingly awed Lynn even further. ''What's your name?''

''Lynn.'' She answered, still a little incredulous.

''Right then, Lynn!'' William replied before he made a roll of cash appear and plucked out several bills. ''Do you really want that bat? Because we got the money you need for it right here!'' He asked, holding out the right amount to Lynn.

Lynn wanted to snatch that cash out of William's grasp, but for once managed to control herself.

''What's it going to cost me?'' Lynn skeptically asked. Even if was captivated by their very real promise, she knew even now that someone just handing her the cash was too good to be true.

William cast a grin at Lynn's shrewdness, an almost sly one. ''Smart girl! She's really smart, right Frankie?'' He lively asked, facing his friend as Lynn couldn't help but feel a little flattered. ''When we invest in you, of course expect a small profit from our venture in your happiness!''

''How much?''

''For a 50-dollar loan, we ask a ten dollars interest and you can pay back within a respectable time frame! We'll work something out!'' William explained with his silver tongue. He then reached his hand out to Lynn. ''So, do we have a deal, Lynn?''

Lynn should know better than just taking money from a random person she barely met, or even talking to them. But seeing this easy money in William's hand has made her deaf to reason or anything else but William's honeyed words. She began to smile brightly as her dream bat was only a handshake away.

''Alright then William! We got a deal!'' She happily announced as they firmly shook hands.

''Nice! Here's your cash! Go get that bat, you've earned it!'' He warmly instructed her, seemingly rooting for her happiness.

Lynn didn't need to be told this twice. She snatched the money out of his grasp and ran back to the sports store to finally get that what she coveted for what felt like an eternity.

* * *

Time seemed to fly for Lynn in the blissful mood she found herself in after buying the Gregorius Slugger III, which she had christened Gregory. It was both strong but easy to handle, and in the two days since she bought it, she effortlessly broke the record for consecutive hits at the batting cages twice already. When she showed her new bat off to the others, they looked green with jealousy, especially this one boy called Francisco and Lynn _reveled_ in his envy. He tried his hardest to throw her out, but whether he pitched fastballs, curveballs or screwballs, Lynn hit everything he threw at her with flawless, mighty swings. With Gregory, the game against Beaverton was going to be a _breeze._

She could've spent the rest of her days in the cages and on the diamond just to keep feeling that amazing buzz when she sent another ball skyward with Gregory. But unfortunately, she needed to eat good meals and good rest as well to keep her strength up, so she was currently riding back home on her bicycle.

As she passed a certain parking lot, two faces she met not long ago spotted her and threw themselves in her path, and began pursuing her.

''Hey Lynn! Good that you rolled by, we were looking for you!'' William said as he pulled up next to Lynn and basically forced her bike to stop as well.

''Hey guys! What's up?'' Lynn asked, happy to see their providers.

''We'll get by. How about you? How that bat you've bought?'' William asked, pointing at the equipment in her hands.

''It's amazing! I feel like I've finally found another part of me in this bat!'' Lynn gushed as she rubbed its end.

''That's great, but we do have an issue we need to settle with you Lynn.'' William remarked, earning himself a look from Lynn. ''You're _due_.'' He formally announced, getting straight to the point as he folded his hands.

''What?''

''It's time to pay.'' He translated, starting to look more serious.

Despite the words sounding clear to Lynn, she was more than a little confused. ''Now? But you said I could pay back within a 'respectable time frame'.''

''Yeah, and three days after we gave you a loan is starting to go beyond what we think is respectable.'' William pointed out, his voice starting to sound distinctively less sugary than earlier. ''So have you got the 80 clam for us?''

This request got a haughty chuckle out of Lynn. She thought she was being joked with, she brought out a fist and lightly punched William's arm. ''You're getting forgetful, pal! We agreed on you getting 60 from me! 50 with a ten-dollar interest!''

''But Lynn, I'm certain we had an unspoken understanding that the ten dollars interest we agreed on accrues on a _daily_ basis!'' William remarked with a telling, dark smile and eyes like a predator locked on its prey.

''What?! You didn't say anything about that!'' Lynn exclaimed, utterly perplexed.

''That's what unspoken means, genius!'' Franklin pointed out with a condescending smile, speaking for the first time in Lynn's presence.

''And a simple sum teaches that since we loaned you the money three days ago, means that you owe us… 80 dollar now! Have you got what we deserve?''

This was the point where it slowly began to dawn on Lynn with what kind of people she had been doing business with.

Lynn planted her hands in her hips and stared at him. ''I don't know what you're trying to do here chump, but you'll only get what we agreed on!'' Lynn declared.

Upon it becoming clear that she wasn't going to cooperate the way her financiers wanted to, Frank sneaked up on her and snatched her Gregory out of her grasp. ''Hey- hey!'' Lynn sputtered.

''In that case, we hold on to what is rightfully ours!'' William explained pedantically.

''Give that back! That's mine!'' Lynn angrily declared as she tried to reach up in a attempt to take back her bat. But for Frank, who was some two heads taller than the pint-sized girl, she was no match at all. She determinedly kept trying, but knew that she wasn't going to get it back like this.

''Yours? But it was paid with _our_ money!'' Frank pointed out before he tossed the bat over to William to start a impromptu game of keep-away with Lynn and laughed derisively at her blindly running back and forth for it.

She should've known better, but William's charm and exploitation of her woe had coaxed into taking on a debt to these guys. Having been scammed, no money and not even what she loaned the money for in the first place anymore, coupled with the ridiculing laughter drained her off her usual plentiful self-confidence over the utter lack of control she had over this situation.

''I- I'll tell on you!'' Lynn warned, the only thing she could think up right now that sounded remotely threatening.

But this childish threat was met with even more ridicule from Frank and William as they guffawed madly. Lynn's face turned red with embarrassment from feeling this petty and powerless to do anything meaningful against her malignant creditors as they laughed at her face. But with her rising embarrassment, her temper flared up as well.

''Tell on us? What are you? Three?'' William hollered between laughter to rub in some extra hubris into Lynn.

''She looks the part!'' Frank added, followed by another round of scornful chortling at Lynn's expense.

''But do go tell anyone!'' William tauntingly dared her after he curbed his laughter. ''It's your word against ours, _tyke_!''

''Who're you calling tyke, stilt?!'' Lynn snapped in a cocktail of anger and insecurity; being constantly reminded of how short she was, already a touchy subject, only served to worsen her aggression even further. When her outburst earned her another mocking chuckle from William, she had all but lost it; her body tensed up and her teeth were gritted.

''Cute.'' William mumbled as he crossed his arms and idly let his eyes wander to his fingers. Meanwhile, Lynn trained her eyes on _her bat, _still in Franklin's hands and bided her time. ''Listen up, meet me near Sawyer Drive tomorrow. I have a job for you where you can start earning back what you owe-'' He said right before on a impulse Lynn punched Franklin in his gut and snatched her bat out of his grasp when he flinched.

It was a very unwise, dangerous even, course of action to just bail out and leave, but no way was Lynn going to play by these scammers' rules. In her impulsiveness, she decided that they either get what they shook hands on, or they'd get nothing at all.

''Bite me with your job! You're not getting anything from me!'' Lynn fiercely declared. She was to hop onto her bike, but was pulled off as quickly as she got on and put in a tight lock by Frank that she couldn't break out of no matter her strength. With her arms seized, she was lifted up to make her eyes meet William's, which overflowed with venom.

''Oh yes we will, squirt!'' William snarled, a far cry from his suave self just days earlier as he tightly curled his fingers into a fist. Dreading that what was certain to come and no way to avoid it, Lynn still tried to look for a way out of her bond as William lined up for a punch.

''No wait-''

_BIFF!_

* * *

**Before you ask: yes, Ruthie was the best name for Lynn's bat I could come up with!**

**At first, I wrote this as a one-shot, but it left me very unsatisfied with the finished product because of how rushed it felt. The story as it was didn't cover even nearly enough than I could and wanted to, so I instead expanded the plot and decided to make it a fic consisting of multiple chapters!**

**I'd also like to point out that while the description may imply truly horrible things to happen to Lynn, it will all stay within the boundaries of the T rating!**

**Until next update!**

**:D,**

**L.W.**


	2. In The Spider's Web

**In Deep**

**In case you hadn't noticed yet, I have a new username!**

**People compared the first chapter to the Spongebob episode All That Glitters; the similarities will stop there!**

**A little thing I forgot while writing is that instead of baseball, Lynn and the Squirrels actually play **_**softball**_**. Too late to change that back, but forgive me on this massive oversight!**

**Anyway, read on to see how Lynn continues to deal with her problems!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: In The Spider's Web**

* * *

Lynn wondered what stung worse: The black eye and the sore gut she was just gifted fby a strong right jab, or the disgrace from being beaten up; it reminded her of a horrible period in her life not too long ago. She would've loved to get all philosophical about it and reminisce, but riding her bike was hard enough as it was with the double vision alone. She shook and wobbled all the way, but she made it back home without any major accidents. She dropped her bicycle on the lawn and stumbled onto the porch. She hoped that she could get to her room without being noticed and-

''Lynn!'' Her mother gasped in horror as soon as her daughter opened the front door. Lynn sighed, sitting in the living room were her mother, Lori, Lincoln and Lisa. Things like remaining unseen were pipedreams after all in the Loud house.

While she was used to her fifth daughter constantly getting herself bruised and cut, Rita's mother instincts kicked into high gear and immediately went to nursing this more serious-looking injury. Lynn was firmly planted on the couch and given an icepack for her black eye.

''What happened to you?'' Lincoln asked his sister with concern as the icepack soothed her pain.

''Did you get in a fight or something?'' Lori indifferently remarked, not fazed with Lynn's black eye knowing as well that she got herself injured all the time.

This remark, no matter how random it was, pierced right through Lynn and she broke out in a light sweat. The stern, disapproving look her mother shot her did little to help. She couldn't tell her kin that she was in debt to some randos she met only days before; They'd deny ever having met Lynn and if her family believed her, she'd surely be punished for being so stupid… harshly punished. Besides, Lynn got in with them herself, she'd get herself out as well.

''I…'' Lynn began, followed by a short awkward chuckle. ''I got this shiner from when I took a beanball to the eye.'' She explained. Immediately regretting going with this fib once she noticed the worried looks she got from the others.

''Literally on your eye? That sounds pretty serious!'' Lori remarked, now showing concern as well.

''In that case would advice going to a doctor to check if you haven't sustained any more serious injuries than just that periorbital hematoma!'' Lisa advised while she fixed her glasses.. ''I haven't yet extended my license, but allow me to run some tests-'' Lisa continued as she got up from her place and approached Lynn, who shuffled away from her at equal speed.

''That won't be needed, Lis! I feel perfectly fine! It was a… pretty poor pitch and- and I got it looked at on the diamond already, it was nothing serious! And if it was, I would've dropped already!'' She hastily assured them.

A short silence followed while. Lisa seemed to ponder on Lynn's untrue explanation and a few more small beads of sweat rolled down Lynn's forehead, praying that they'd believe her.

''Very well.'' Lisa eventually relented, with which the family returned to minding their own business.

Lola was the undisputed queen of lying in the house while Lynn couldn't even stand in her shadow, but she was glad that through a little twisting of the truth she had survived this interrogation…

Or so she thought at least: Someone's keen eye noticed that the one thing that Lynn couldn't stop gushing about was also missing.

''Where's Gregory?'' Lincoln asked.

Lynn froze up with wide eyes of horror. As innocent as he meant the question, it pierced right through Lynn.

''I… borrowed him out to Margo!'' Lynn answered while trying her best to keep her cool.

Lincoln found this strange because he knew how fond Lynn was of her new bat. ''But why? Doesn't Margo have a bat herself?''

''Just because! Stop grilling me on everything, Stinkoln!'' Lynn barked, the suddenness of which spooked Lincoln like it did the rest. She got up and sought peace in her room, she was stressed out enough without the others and their barrage of difficult questions with even more difficult answers.

Once she entered her room, she took a quick glance into the mirror to see if her black eye really was as bad as her mother's reaction implied it to: It was. The swelling completely shut her eye, and Lynn could see next to nothing through it. She prodded her mark of shame and lightly reeled in pain. Even so, she was lucky that William only gave her a black eye, it would've been difficult to come up with a good lie for a more serious injury… unless that was exactly what William aimed for.

She then laid down on her bed and began to repeatedly bounce a ball off of the wall, the repetitive sound and motion clearing her mind and shutting out all other stimuli that'd hinder her thinking.

''Hi Lynn.''

Lynn flinched madly as a voice broke her out of her deep concentration. She didn't need long to realize that Lucy was also in their room, quiet as the grave while sitting on her bed, reading from her poetry bundle and surrounded by lit candles, even though Lynn swore that she was alone when she entered their shared bedroom.

Lynn would probably never get used to Lucy suddenly appearing, so she needed a second to be able to properly greet back.

''Hey Luce.'' Lynn listlessly replied, too constricted in her conundrum to invest more emotion in her speech.

''Is something bothering you?'' Lucy inquired, seeing clearly that something was up with Lynn despite her bangs covering her eyes.

''Yes.'' Lynn answered. She paused briefly to ponder on how to continue. ''Baseball stuff.'' She answered, reluctant to go into detail.

''I see.'' Lucy responded. ''Should I consult the spirits for a solution to your problem?''

Even if Lucy meant well, her offer and interest only served to make Lynn more uncomfortable... and angry.

''None of your spooky mumbo-jumbo is going help me with that Lucy!'' Lynn brusquely shot her down, hoping that it'd stop Lucy from asking any further questions.

Not anticipating this curt response, Lucy dropped the issue.

''_Sigh_. Okay.'' Lucy wheezed as she put her focus back on her poetry and finally allowed Lynn to think her situation over in peace and quiet… until Luna will play another impromptu mad riff.

* * *

Having thought about it long and hard, Lynn _didn't_ have to come here; she could just stay away and never face William and Franklin again and it technically would've costed her nothing. However, that also meant that she had to give up Gregory, and she was hell-bent on getting her prized bat back. She felt she'd have no future in baseball anymore if she went back to lesser bats after having gotten accustomed to Gregory's perfection. But it wasn't just for the bat; it was a personal matter of honor too. She was scammed and belittled, but _no one_ would so severely humiliate Lynn Loretta Loud Jr. again and let them think they won because come on, Lynn wasn't three after all, right?

Carrying a duffel bag with her baseball equipment, she rode onto Sawyer Avenue and spotted William and Franklin standing in front of a house, presumably one of theirs. Whatever they wanted her to do, Lynn hoped it wouldn't take long because she also had baseball training in an hour, and she _never_ skipped _any_ training.

''Hey there.'' William greeted her with a slight but ultimately pedantic smile. ''Cute makeup you got there, but I think you forgot the other eye, little Lynda!'' He smugly remarked as he pointed at Lynn's black eye.

As her blackmailers shared a quick laugh, Lynn cast a glare up to William. She hated being called both Lynda and small and the derision of her injury didn't help matters. It was already clear as day that the jokes were going to be a recurring thing and Lynn almost popped a vein out of frustration at the prospect alone. But as much as she wanted to give them both two black eyes in return, her stomach was still sore from the punch she got yesterday.

Lynn quietly exhaled to mellow out. She sternly reminded herself to be patient and calm, she'd gain nothing if she attacked them and it'd only make her an easy target for both their ridicule and their fists. Aiming to bide her time, Lynn would soon show these two that she can't be messed with.

''Okay I'll be brief:'' William began, trying to sound formal while he was not yet done with laughing. ''You owe us. And until you can pay us back, you got to run some errands for us!''

''As long at it doesn't end with me dangling from a shower curtain while a guy waves a chainsaw in my face, I'm game.'' Lynn agreed, crossing her arms to show she was up for it.

''So it's a deal!'' William contently said, beckoning her to come along.

William and Franklin guided Lynn to a shed in the backyard, and she mentally readied herself for whatever her loan sharks wanted her to do. She hyped herself up; no matter what atrocious task they were going to give her, she was up for it. William opened the door, and inside, laid numerous newspapers.

''A paper route? Is that it?''

''Basically.'' William answered with a shrug.

She looked into the shed. Even if it was a lot of work for someone on a tight schedule as Lynn, she had done this job in the past and frankly did not really understand why she even worried in the first place. Something did confuse Lynn a little, and she shot William a look as she planted her hands in her hips.

''Aren't you a little old to have one?''

''I may be, but kids like you aren't.'' William answered. ''Tell you what, you are going to fold these papers, and then you are going to deliver them without getting a single complaint! Good thing you came on your bike because you're going to need it.'' He indifferently explained right before he handed Lynn a long list. ''Here are the addresses. Report to us when you've delivered them all to hear what you've earned. I'd hurry; they're already late. Now chop-chop!''

Without skipping a beat, Lynn loosened her wrists and quickly went to folding newspapers, if she got this job done quickly enough she could still get to baseball practice. Fortunately, the motions were still in her muscle memory: Fold, bind with a rubber band and in her emptied duffel bag. Fold, bind with a rubber band and in the bag; Fold, bind with a rubber band and in the bag. Repeating this set of movements until there was nothing left to fold, bind and put in the bag.

However, the bag seemed too small to hold all the newspapers, which would mean more than one ride to deliver them all and thus take longer to get the job done. But Lynn wasn't going to settle for appearances; it could fit all the newspapers if she _wanted_ them to fit.

A while later, she had stuffed the bag to the very top with the newspapers without caring too much for such small things like making tears or creases; it was so full, she couldn't even zip the bag up anymore. With that job done, Lynn took a moment to browse through the list of addresses and was annoyed to find some customers were very far apart from each other. It was going to be a lengthy ride, but she could probably still make it if she floored it.

She planned the fastest route and swung the bag over her shoulder, but bulged and unwieldly as it had become almost pulled Lynn down to the ground while doing so, and climbed onto her bike, but not before she had to crouch down to pick up a newspaper that had fallen out of the bag.

As she wobbled and tried to keep her balance, she slowly pedaled out of the garden. Though, every few seconds, a newspaper fell out of the bag and knowing that Lynn couldn't get any complaints, Lynn _had_ to stop and put it back in. Obviously, after the fifth time that happened, Lynn had enough of it and she hadn't even left the street yet.

Instead, Lynn aimed to avoid them falling out. With one eye on the street and another on the bag, she'd be ready to tuck the papers back in when they'd almost fall out. And sooner than expected, Lynn had to bend herself in strange shapes to catch a newspaper. Unfortunately, this also meant that she went completely off-balance and fell off her bike before she had even properly driven off the sidewalk.

''Wack!'' Lynn snarled. Not batting an eye to the bruises and cuts gotten from the fall, she gathered all the newspapers strewn about, and climbed back on her bicycle. As she wobbled even to keep standing, Lynn reluctantly accepted that it was pointless to try anymore and couldn't carry all the newspapers at once. She carried the bag back into the shed and emptied it out until it wasn't so difficult to handle anymore. Lynn knew that having to make more than one go meant she'd be late, but it'd still be faster than stopping every few feet. It was frustrating, but there was no other way.

* * *

With the wind blowing through her short hair, Lynn zipped through the neighborhood as she threw the newspapers into the front yards. Despite everything, acting as a papergirl felt somewhat nostalgic as up until shortly she used to do this as well… until she was laid off for making a sport out of throwing newspapers through windows, and doing so a few times too many through closed ones.

''Three points!'' Lynn called vividly after throwing one exactly on a doorstep, confident that she won't get it trouble if she played her old sport using doors, even if they were less challenging targets.

She kept scoring three-pointers until a face too familiar for Lynn in this situation spotted her on the street.

''Hi hi, Lynn!'' Sister Leni greeted her as she and a stubby, familiar boy greeted her with a kind handwave. Out of courtesy, Lynn slowed down and recognized him as Leni's boyfriend but because Leni hadn't yet introduced him to the family at large, his name had slipped Lynn at the moment.

''Hey Leni and… uh… Chaz?'' Lynn guessed right when she came to a stop next to him. Chaz nodded his head in affirmation, seemingly holding no grudge for Lynn forgetting his name at all.

Meanwhile, Leni tapped her lower lip. Her underused brain began to compute that something was a little off about their meeting.

''Wait Lynn, what are you doing here carrying newspapers? Shouldn't you be at baseball practice?'' Leni confusedly inquired.

A nervous twitch shot across Lynn's body. By stopping or even being seen in places she wasn't supposed to be, she had made a bigger mistake than she realized.

''Oh yeah, I deliver these for Margo so she could get to practice earlier!'' She gave a flimsy explanation with an anxious stammer.

To Lynn's luck, Leni only paid attention to Lynn's words and not to anything else before a endearing smile formed. ''That's so thoughtful of you!''

''I know I'm cool like that but I got to jet now!'' Lynn hastily declared as she began to paddle away as to not give Leni another chance to respond or even worse, ask questions.

''Bye!'' Leni called after her before she and Chaz resumed their way as well.

Why did she had to run into Leni out of all people? Leni could be loose-lipped in her sheer obliviousness and Lynn could only hope that this meeting wouldn't have any bad consequences.

* * *

After finally delivering all the papers, Lynn knocked on the front door of either William or Frank's house. She crossed her arms and impatiently tapped her foot in annoyance over the long wait; whatever they were doing in there, they sure took their time to answer the door when Lynn had already spent more than enough time with this errand.

When eventually:

''What's with the knocking? Can't reach for the doorbell?'' Frank remarked when they opened the door. A bitter fact was, Lynn barely could.

As the boys shared another chuckle, Lynn frowned intensely and sardonically laughed along with them.

''Ha ha, comedy genius! I delivered all your stuff. Can I go now?'' She requested, having been made angry by yet another crack at her expense.

William sighed as he looked exaggeratedly critical while he considered the question and taking annoyingly long to do so before he relented. ''Well alright! You go your way scamp!''

''Finally!''

''So, what did I work off of my debt? Ten- twenty dollars?'' Lynn guessed, finishing on a hopeful note.

''For doing this job, we won't add the daily interest to your existing debt!'' William announced, which came as a very unpleasant surprise to Lynn.

''So I basically worked for nothing?!'' She exclaimed, more than a little angry with the 'payment'.

''Tss, you just have to look at it from a different perspective Lynn!'' William explained, remaining contrarily calm as he bent his knees to let his eyes meet Lynn's.

Looking into that sly gaze, Lynn just wanted to bite him in that ugly mug of his, but self-control is what she needed right now; she'd get back at them soon, _real_ soon.

''You worked for nothing tangible, and your debt didn't decrease yes… but it didn't increase either! However you look at it, you're one step closer to paying off what you owe us, and one step closer to being reunited to your dear bat!'' He stated charismatically as Lynn's anger simmered down to a disgruntled cinder.

''I get why you're so fond of it! It's a great butt-scratcher!'' Franklin remarked.

''Shut up you-'' Lynn snapped, offended. She couldn't help herself despite her promise of remaining calm; the mental image of Frank sullying Gregory like that infuriated her. ''Whatever!'' She huffed before she stomped to her bike with wide steps; she was already late enough for baseball practice without dealing with these punks and wasting anymore time and energy would impact her performance.

''Don't forget to drop by same-time again tomorrow, Lynn! There's always stuff to do!'' William called after her as she rode off. Lynn only heard him partially, focusing to go to baseball practice as fast as possible. Was Lynn subtly relieved that baseball was currently the only sport she needed to worry about, otherwise she was in even deeper trouble than she already was.

* * *

Approaching the baseball pitch at breakneck speeds, Lynn willfully tumbled off her bike and left it in the grass as she ran onto the diamond. There were her team, her coach always roaring orders and instructions, some cheerleaders working on their routine and a little further down was another team exercising.

''Lynn! Where were you?! Practice is almost over!'' The team coach shouted upon Lynn's approach.

''Sorry coach Honda, I got caught up big-time up at home!'' She apologized.

Coach Honda might be loud and demanding, but she was also an understanding woman so she let it slide. ''Alright, go on.'' She said with a nod to the team, and Lynn joined in with the team running around the diamond.

''Hey Lynn, you're late-'' Margo greeted her, reeling in disgust upon noticing Lynn's face. ''How'd you get that bruise?'' She asked, the sore being even for her standards a little nasty.

''This?'' Lynn repeated to give herself a little time to think something up. ''This is the daily grind at my place!'' Lynn answered, sounding and looking proud.

But Margo immediately spotted something else that seemed off. ''What are those black spots on your shirt? Is that ink?''

Lynn looked down and to her horror saw that there were indeed ink on her shirt, and she needed to think up an excuse _fast_. ''Huh… how did that get there?'' Lynn wondered, feigning confusion. ''My sister must've spilled some of her black paint on my jerseys!''

And as such, baseball practice went on for a short while, and it was just what Lynn needed to get her head off of being conned… _again_. The only thing that irked her to no end were the cheerleaders and their obnoxious yells and routines; Lynn passionately _loathed_ cheerleaders.

* * *

When training was over and everyone was packing their belongings, coach Honda blew her whistle and gathered the team.

''Okay team! As you know we got a very important game coming up in a few days, so you all got to be at tomorrow's training! It's the last chance you get to go through everything and I expect you here no matter how well your health or mental-wellbeing is! Savvy?'' The coach instructed, her voice and body language being overbearing. The team nodded, some slightly frightened by this insistent instruction, and immediately coach Honda relaxed.

''See you girls tomorrow!'' She casually greeted them, leaving her team to pack their bags.

Lynn and Margo packed their bags when the other baseball team came near.

''Oh no, here come the Hares.'' Margo grumbled.

''Bunch of braggarts!'' Lynn agreed, though they both said so in good humor.

The Royal Woods Hares were the other baseball team in town besides the Squirrels. They always competed to be better in their respective leagues and gain more trophies and other symbols of prestige. The rivalry between the Hares and the Squirrels was both outspoken and fierce, but never truly hostile. If anything, both teams sought to bring out the best up in the other through constantly trying to one-up their rivals.

But among the Hares was one face Lynn especially loved to butt heads with; Francisco Montes.

''Hey Lynn!'' Said boy greeted her as his squid of friends lingered around.

''Hey Francisco!'' Lynn responded.

''Where did you get that black eye from?'' Francisco asked. ''And where's that _amazing_ bat of yours?'' He asked immediately after with a mild snicker.

''I left it at home!'' Lynn replied on a impulse.

''I bet you're not so hot without it on the plate, huh?'' Francisco haughtily inquired, softly prodding a finger in Lynn's shoulder.

''Amigo, I can bat you out with my eyes closed with or without Gregory!'' Lynn boastfully assured him with a cocky smile as her friends from the team gathered behind her.

''No way!'' Francisco rejected with a brash smile of his own.

''Yes way!''

Francisco shot her a confident glare and crossed his arms. ''Wanna bet?''

A wicked smile curled onto Lynn's face. The only thing that gave her a bigger thrill than winning were dares and a dare from this big-mouth with his slick hair she could not resist!

''Heh, try me! What're we playing for?''

''Three pitches from me; standard rules; If I throw you out, you…'' Francisco said as he held the note while he thought up something creative, and finding it when his eyes wandered over to the cheerleaders. ''You have to dress up like a cheerleader and perform a routine for me; pompoms and all!'' He finished, making his friends hoot in enthusiasm.

Lynn gulped and shuddered at the thought. It was a unpleasant, dangerous bet but she couldn't go back anymore, so she had to go forward instead.

''But if I bat just one, you have to do that for me!'' Lynn vividly negotiated, after which it were her friends' turn to show their support of Lynn's idea.

''Deal!'' Francisco agreed, spitting in his open hand and holding it out to Lynn as she followed suit.

''Okay I hope you like a fresh breeze between your legs then because you're going to twirl a skirt, _Franny_!'' She told him as they shook hands.

''Franny?'' Francisco repeated. ''_Oh-ho_, it's on!'' He declared. Having been both humored and riled up by this taunt, he walked over to the mound under the cheers and encouraging words of both sides.

Margo came by and shoved a random bat into Lynn's grasp. ''You got this Lynn!'' She encouraged her.

''You bet!'' Lynn confidently replied. However, she really needed to adjust to this piece of wood in her hand again. The grip didn't feel as silky smooth as those of Gregory, nor did it weight feel as nicely balanced. But she was certain that she could bat whatever Francisco threw at her… but just to be sure, she did a little Cossack dance for extra good luck and then pointed her bat at Francisco.

''Pitch!'' She shouted, getting over the racket the other players made.

Francisco smiled. He perched himself on one leg and threw a straight fastball that honored its name. Lynn looked pretty bad swinging fashionably late when the ball had already flown past her.

''That's one!'' Francisco called while his friends cheered.

But Lynn wasn't going to be thrown off of her game by just one strike. She tightened her grasp and readied herself as Francisco prepared for the second pitch. With an underhand pitch, he launched the ball straight at Lynn, but this time Lynn actually managed to hit it. Everyone looked in either shock or awe as the ball flew up high, but the two camps began displaying opposite reactions when it turned out that the ball went into foul territory.

''That's two!'' Francisco stated as his friends got even more excited.

''Don't let him put you in a dress, Lynn!'' Margo called among the supporting cheers from their team.

''Come on, Lynn! Focus!'' She whispered to herself. Whatever was coming for her, she'd swing to hit.

Francisco rubbed the ball tightly in his glove. Like a flamingo, he went onto one leg again and prepared to throw a pitch that'd end with either one of them losing their dare. The ball flew out of his hand and Lynn _felt_ that she was going to send it flying. However, Francisco had thrown a curveball instead of a straight pitch and Lynn realized this too in a split second. However, that split second was still one split second too much, and before she had adjusted herself to dealing with such a throw it already crashed into the cage behind her.

As a blend of victorious cheers and upset groans emerged, Lynn looked behind her with her mouth agape.

''Oh-'' She gulped, a red blush slowly appearing on her cheeks.

''I was sure that you were going to put me in a routine!'' Francisco told her as he walked past Lynn. ''But instead, you owe me a pep rally!'' He casually reminded her.

Lynn was unable to coherently respond to him. She saw her team slink away in defeat and between Lynn and the rest of the Squirrels everyone wondered who had to be more embarrassed: Lynn for having to cheer, or the team for seeing their rivals beat them.

''Don't sweat it Lynn, we can't win it all.'' Margo calmly consoled her with a quick pat on the back, but Lynn remained quiet and lost in her own confusion.

What did she owe this degradation to? Did she not perform enough good luck rituals? Did her black eye ruin her depth perception? Was Francisco just a great pitcher or inversely, she a bad batter? Or was she just really a lost cause without Gregory? She hated the idea, but it seemed ever more likely.

Now she owed money to some shylocks as well as a performance of shame to her rival. Whatever was up it her luck, she was really low on it these days.

* * *

**That's all! Don't forget to review, follow or favorite if you want to, and until next update!**

**:D,**

**Q.W (Oh those initials looks nice!)**


	3. Odd Jobs

**In Deep**

**I've noticed I'm one of the authors in this corner to not yet have done a No Such Luck rewrite… I'm probably not going to either! :D**

**So I've scrolled through a few chapters of A Brother's Debt, which is a pretty good story by the way, and I've noticed some similarities as it also involves someone trying to work off a debt. However, I only read ABD recently and it wasn't an inspiration for this one. Besides, this plot will go different than A Brother's Debt… it's less ambitious and expansive admittedly, just as I planned it.**

**Also, I want to reinvent my writing style but I've ran into a fair share of problems. I'm not going to repeat myself unnecessarily, so I've put up a poll on my profile if you're interested in the details and I would very much appreciate if you left your vote there. Please help me become a more able writer, through the poll or helpful reviews; it'll be very much appreciated!**

**But enough semi-emotional stuff, I'll give you the next chapter now!**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Odd Jobs**

* * *

This was going to be her another victory for her!

Lynn's bicycle screeched to a halt and Lynn ran onto the baseball field, carrying her gear and wearing her lucky jersey on her. Upon noticing there was no one else of her team or anyone at all present, a proud smile formed and she basked in the glory of winning another self-imposed contest, she lived for these brief rushes. But quickly, Lynn's smile faded as she grew confused; something felt very off. The last thing she remembered was her going to bed, but she didn't have any recollection of going to practice or anything in between at all, it didn't make sense and the confusion began to unnerve Lynn.

''Hey Lynn…'' A voice familiar to her said. Lynn was relieved to hear Margo and to have her friend with her in these puzzling circumstances. She turned around to face her friend, who gave her a flat, disparaging glare.

''Margo?'' Lynn asked. Margo remained quiet and unmoved; she kept giving her friend the same look that slowly made Lynn nervous as she had no idea what was going on that Margo acted this way.

Margo's eyes wandered down slightly and she pitched a quiet snicker that Lynn interpreted as sounding pretty demeaning.

''What's wrong?'' Lynn asked with minor offense. ''You're being really weird, Margo!''

''Nice skirt!'' Margo complimented her with venom in her voice, keeping her eyes trained on Lynn's body.

Taken aback and puzzled by her friend's spiteful tone and compliment, Lynn looked down and with a long gasp of utter shock discovered that instead of wearing her jersey and her shorts, her apparel had suddenly changed to a two-piece cheerleader outfit and instead of her duffel bag, Lynn was holding pompoms.

''W-what-'' Was all Lynn mumbled. She was certain she was wearing her jersey and her shorts just moments ago, it was the only thing she was certain of anymore but now she tried to find a explanation how and why she was so suddenly dressed in this dreaded costume. Wearing it was even worse than Lynn expected; she loathed her bared midriff being on display and as if wearing a skirt in itself wasn't bad enough, was the skirt's hem much too high for her liking as well and she hoped to lower it by pulling it down. Margo began to audibly snicker at Lynn's feeble attempts.

''Hey Lynn…'' Another voice on her six spoke. Lynn froze and turned her head again, startled to see members of both the Squirrels and the Hares suddenly standing there and watching, menacingly. She looked back and all around Margo had they appeared out of thin air as well, with Francisco having a prominent place at the front.

Lynn had to admit that being surrounded by all these people with their piercing glares, their condescending smiles coupled with her dressed in this humiliating gown began to feel very intimidating, even for her.

''C'mon, Lynn! Do what you owe me!'' Francisco demanded, calm but with a palpable, vile air.

She was reluctant, but Lynn would never back away from a lost dare and did not intend to start today, Lynn began. But like how Lynn had no recollection of how she got in this nightmare, she also didn't remember taking time to learn a routine and it showed; she made some weak, uncoordinated motions with her limbs at a loss for better. Titters and chuckles began to emerge at her poor show and it made Lynn feel the uneasy kind of warm inside.

''Is that the best you can do?'' Francisco called. Unlike how Lynn remembered his taunts, this one was cold and clearly meant to put her down instead of encourage her.

Lynn was determined to shut them up but as much as she wanted to show them her best, the snickering did not stop and even steadily increased in volume and Lynn felt her usual plentiful self-confidence draining away and stopped trying. She wasn't someone to give up, but it was better than to further degrade herself.

''Shut up!'' She tried to sound aggressive to fight back through words instead of actions, but she couldn't muster anything beyond a coy mumble that was easily drowned out by the giggling. ''STOP LAUGHING!''

Powerless to fight back to the mockery anymore, she saw no other way but shyly trying to cover herself with her pompoms, which seemed to _further_ demean her to the crowd. Everyone was laughing at her expense, her teammates and her best friend Margo. It was one of the worst feelings she ever experienced. She wanted to scream her lungs out in pure agony, but she had to be brave and not submit to their dark glee. Lynn squeezed her eyes shut and dreadfully awaited the end of this ordeal, sensing that the snickers were about to change into full-blown guffawing to howl her into oblivion.

But right before that was to happen:

''_Nhuh_!'' Lynn gasped. The next thing she knew, she sat upright and in a reflex had her arms protectively wrapped around her but once she calmed down did she realize she was safely in her bed, wearing the tank top she fell asleep in instead of a cheerleader skirt. Around her was not the sound of laughter digging into her ears or the disturbing versions of her friends and teammates, but only Lucy sleeping unperturbed in her coffin. She breathed a sigh of relief, it was only a bad dream.

Having been rudely awakened, there was no point staying in bed anymore so instead of wasting her time Lynn headed for the bathroom now that there wasn't yet a line forming. Upon taking a look in the mirror, she was relieved to discover that the swelling of her black eye had begun to slowly recede; that was at least something good coming out of this night. She undid her ponytail and tied it back immediately as part of a morning good luck ritual before she turned the faucet and began to wash her face, wiping the last remaining bit of sleep out of her eyes.

Unfortunately, Lynn realized that the dream she had was likely to come true in certain ways sooner or later. Probably a little less hellish than how it went on in dreamland, but definitely with all the ridicule and the laughter. As she decided to get up and she shuddered once more at the outlook of prancing with pompoms, jumping around and doing those stupid cheers for their amusement, not to mention the teasing she'd get at baseball practice today.

But a sore grimace formed when she remembered that before she even could make it to practice, she had other commitments to tend to first.

* * *

Here went Lynn again. Another day, another menial chore in service of William and Franklin. Lynn hoped she wasn't on newspaper duty today because she couldn't miss so much as a minute of her last baseball practice before the big match against Beaverton; she missed too much for that yesterday already and for what? For a bogus reward like her interest being halted for a day. No matter how William glorified it. But today, Lynn wasn't going to settle on being paid something stupid again, absolutely not.

She neared the house on Sawyer Drive she was yesterday, and saw only William sitting on the doorstep, fiddling on his smartphone and only noticing Lynn once she entered the front yard.

''Hey there, Lynnette!'' William greeted her.

Instantly, Lynn noted her prized Gregory laying next to William. It was ever so tempting but she had to stay cool and not show how desperately she wanted it back.

''Am I on newspaper duty again like yesterday?'' Lynn guessed, getting straight to business.

''Nah. We found someone else for delivering those!'' William answered. He rose on his feet and went to the backyard with bat in hand. They walked to the garden shed while Lynn remained outside. ''You are going to paint our backyard fence today!'' He then promptly plopped down a few cans of white paint in front of Lynn, startling her majorly with his assignment. ''Both at the inside and the outside of the garden!''

''All that?!'' Lynn asked, the subtle horror in her voice being only a fraction of her real dismay while she stuck an arm out to the fence.

''Yeah, basically!'' William responded with his ever smug smile, enjoying Lynn's anguish and doing little to conceal it.

''But I have baseball to go to in an hour!''

''Yeah…'' William said, lingering on the note. ''not today. I promised my mother I'd do some home improvements today while she's out of town, but I think you'll happily take over for me, would you tot?''

Lynn was so taken aback with the job she was given, she didn't even notice the derogatorily innocuous smile William gave her. The fence stood around the entire backyard. This was going to take a while to get painted, and Lynn was lucky it was only a picket fence. The task may've seemed steep and time-consuming, but Lynn collected herself; she saw an opportunity to make it well worth her while.

''I want it to look nice with the paint evenly applied; no drips; simply put, a clean paintjob that doesn't look like a finger-painting! You think you can do that?'' He asked as he idly slapped Lynn's bat into his palm.

''For twenty bucks.'' Lynn answered. William raised an eyebrow and Lynn did a little strut and tried to sound just like him during their first meeting. ''Look, Will, pal, you want this fence painted before your mom comes home, and you better reach deep into your pockets or you'll spending the entire afternoon coloring in this picture.'' A confident smirk grew on her face. She didn't know whether he was going to get angry first or immediately admit defeat to Lynn's negotiation, but she was a little proud of how clever the idea was that she thought up on a whim.

But William responded to Lynn's proposal in any way. He remained unmoved and only gave her a blank stare that made Lynn wonder what went on behind it. Only after a few seconds did William grow a small grin.

''In that case, what do you like better: a dong or a swastika?'' William asked.

Lynn remained quiet in utter confusion over this strange question with mouth agape and one eyebrow raised.

''Have I ever told you I like to carve a little every now and then?'' He went into the shed and retrieved a woodworking knife before sitting down at a stool close by. He laid the bat on his lap and looked like he was ready to drag the blade through the surface. ''And this is a great piece to carve!''

It was scoffed off by Lynn as an empty trick. But when William inched the the blade closer to the bat, it became clear as glass that he wasn't bluffing. Lynn's poise dropped upon the horrific realization that her dear Gregory was going to be defaced forever and she could not let that happen.

''No! You can't do that!'' Lynn shouted as she tried to reach for her bat, but William planted a foot on her chest and pushed Lynn back.

''Can't I?'' William wondered before Lynn could try again. ''I like to remind you that this thing was paid for with _my_ money and as long as I haven't got it back, it stays mine and I can do with it whatever I please! And if I want to etch 'Freeloader' going down the barrel in a classy, cursive font, it's my right to do so and there's nothing you can do about it!'' William grew a cold grin. ''Or instead of 'Freeloader' maybe a leprechaun is more suited for you!''

''I'm not Irish, dude!'' Lynn grumbled, angry in her lack of control.

William pitched a two-note chuckle. ''I never said you were!'' He had his fun with Lynn, but William had other matters to tend to. ''Now get painting. I'll be inside if you need me.'' He said before disappearing into his house, leaving no room for Lynn to argue anymore.

Lynn growled and kicked a can over in frustration. That idea backfired spectacularly. Instead of getting a better pay she gave William a show of how desperately she actually wanted Gregory back. He was going to abuse her position until she was out of debt, Lynn was certain of that. It felt humiliating to do William's housework without good pay like a serf. Bringing newspapers was still a decent job and Lynn took a certain out of it but doing chores like these only served to further point out how much influence William had over her.

But Lynn could blow her stack over it or she could get today's job done. She did a few spins clockwise, followed by a few counter-clockwise spins and began with painting the pickets. If she was quick enough, there was a slight chance she _might_ just make it to baseball practice in time.

* * *

But as Lynn would find out, there'd go much more time into this job than she expected or wanted to. While she could've chosen to rush through her task and not look back at any of her previous work, did she realize that if she didn't do her paintwork good enough in William's eyes, he'd force her to correct it which would cost her even _more_ time. Already not known for having a delicate touch, Lynn was not suitable for the tedium and repetitiveness of this task, and she struggled to not give in to the temptation of cutting corners to finish quickly and leave not only to make it to baseball practice in time but to just escape from the boredom. By repeatedly checking the time on her phone, Lynn further tormented herself; especially once her phone's agenda reminded her that training had started. All she did was getting worked up being stuck and over all the valuable training she was missing out on. It was slowly driving Lynn desperate.

'_I get knocked down, but I'll get up again. You are never gonna keep me down. I get knocked-_'

Hearing her, loud, ringtone and feeling her phone vibrate, Lynn discovered that Margo was calling her, without a doubt to ask why Lynn wasn't at the baseball field yet and she pondered whether she should answer or not. However, forcing herself to talk to Margo would only complicate circumstances right now.

''Sorry Margo, but I'm stuck here at the moment.'' She stuffed the phone into her duffel bag hoping that she'd no longer torture herself with it as well before going back to applying the white paint to the fence. But the call must've been really urgent because she kept hearing her ringtone for a abnormally long time until she was finally granted peace and quiet again to finish her task, which was already tiresome enough without having to deal with questions about why she wasn't at places she was supposed to be.

* * *

At last, the once brown fence had been given a new white color. Both annoyed and fatigued, Lynn peeked through the garden door of William's house and saw him inside. It angered Lynn that he was sitting on his sneaky butt playing games and reap the fruits of her labor and there was nothing she could do about it right now. With a few knocks on the door, Lynn got his attention.

''Hey, I'm done!''

William came outside and inspected Lynn's hard work in silence. His expression made Lynn suspect that there was going to be something to complain about, no matter how small or insignificant.

She was not wrong.

''Hmm… the covering is a little thin on some places.'' William remarked.

Lynn huffed cynically and crossed her arms. ''Well, that's the value you get off of slave labour.''

''Y'know, if you were to fix those little things, then you've earned your pay _and_ I'll forgive that coarse attitude of yours earlier!'' He stated with the smug smile Lynn was starting to become familiar with.

''What pay? Ten dollars I don't even get?'' Regardless, as reluctant as she was to stay any longer in his backyard, she picked up the brush and went to work on the places William pointed her to, treating her to the most basic decency she could expect while doing so.

''Alright, that's good.'' William declared as Lynn dropped the brush and went to stand next to him. ''Isn't it just easier when you do it right in one go?'' He ruffled Lynn's hair with a smug smile.

Needless to say, this annoyed her greatly and she swatted his hand away. ''_Don't_, touch me!'' Lynn murmured before she made her leave.

''Aw don't be like that! I was just starting to like you!'' William called, pretending to be hurt. ''See you around, cream puff!''

Ignoring William's goodbye, she reached into her duffel bag and checked her phone, sighing bitterly and rolling her eyes upon noticing that baseball practice was long over. It was no use going anymore and instead choose to go bike home with a lump in her throat.

* * *

Sauntering into the living room, Lynn found all of her sisters to be present and doing their own thing on or around the couch. Lincoln was the only sibling to be missing, but that wasn't very surprising as Lynn had heard that he was attending one of his geeky conventions with Clyde today and would be away until tonight.

''Hey.'' Lynn greeted. She hoped that she could make it up the stairs without anyone batting much of an eye to her, but to her displeasure nine pairs of eyes were trained on her when she had entered.

''Lynn, where have you been? Margo has called us three times asking why you didn't show up at baseball practise! We were starting to worry and literally almost called the police!'' Lori said. Upon a closer look, she noticed something else. ''And why do you have paint all over yourself?''

Lynn gazed down and realized that she forgot about the paint that got splatted all over her baseball uniform. She looked like she was run over by a line marker and had no excuse for it. ''Uhm… there's…okay…''

''Come on, _paint_ us a picture!'' Luan urged her, followed with a cackle at her own pun. ''Get it?''

Ignoring her jokes, Lynn tried to think up a sound story to cover for the paint stains and her absence at baseball practise. But even if her skill in lying had been steadily improving over the past few days, she couldn't think up a solid alibi to give to the eighteen eyes staring at her. She wished to keep her debt to William a secret and solve it herself, but she couldn't talk herself out of this. The gig was up, and it was time to confess with all the rebukes and punishment that'd come with it.

Preparing to bite the bullet, Lynn loosened her cords with a sigh. ''Okay, there's this boy that I've-''

''_Boy_?'' All of the sisters capable of speech repeated in surprise. In the blink of an eye, they glomped onto Lynn with big, excited smiles. Even the normally dour Lucy or the perpetually stoic Lisa bore uncharacteristically wide grins.

''OMG! Is it Francisco?'' Lori ecstatically asked.

''Aaaah! Lynn's first boyfriend!'' Leni lyrically squeaked as her arms couldn't stop shaking.

Lynn scoffed as their collective elated shrieks pained her ears. They've been going on about it from the moment she first mentioned him. Since then they wouldn't let the idea that Lynn had a crush on him rest no matter how often she'd have to convince them that that was _positively __not_ the case. But they'd never listen and even talked her into giving him a romantic poem… it was embarrassing all around and Lynn didn't know what she was thinking when she went along with their hysteria.

''What?! No, it's not Francisco!''

''_Hmm-hmm_!'' The sisters crooned in unison, convinced of the opposite.

''No! I'm not talking about-''

''Have you kissed? How're his kisses?!'' Lori asked, shaking and unable to wait for the answer.

''Does he have a cute accent?'' Luna asked next.

''How's his _butt_?'' Lola asked with a sultry tone.

''No stop it!'' Lynn wrestled herself free from the clump of passionate obsession. ''I'm _not_ in love! So don't forget it!'' She aggressively assured them.

''It's just a silly phase you're going through. Right sis?'' Luna asked, growing an aware smile and wiggling eyebrows.

''No you don't get it! You _really _don't get it! I-'' Lynn tried to explain, her voice falling quiet briefly when she choose to do the exact _opposite_. ''Yeah. Okay you got me! What's the point of pretending anymore? I admit it!'' She breezily stated. The sisters bit their lip to contain another euphoric squeal.

It is said that good things come to those who wait, and this applied to Lynn for this occasion. As annoying as it was dealing with her sisters' obsession, it inspired Lynn to _go along_ on it instead of fighting back as they had provided her with a perfect alibi… and believe it or not that was worth a little more overenthusiastic snooping into her private life even if it was still _not_ true!

''I've skipped baseball practise to spend alone time with him!'' Lynn said. The sisters gathered around her with eyes wide and all ears to gluttonously indulge on the juicy details. Lynn tried to sound as believable as possible in both story and attitude. ''So we went to the storage closet and we… _kissed_ a little!'' The sisters gasped, biting their lips to stifle another squeal.

''Ditching things you love to be with your crush is _so_ romantic!'' Leni said awestruck. Lynn was certain she wasn't thinking clearly at the moment... even less than usual.

''We knocked over a paint can when we got it on so I got a few splotches on my garb so what? I had my tongue so far down his throat it could come out at the underside!'' Lynn didn't save on the pep as she spoke. The sisters' enthusiasm died down a little at this account turning a little graphic; faintly disgusted looks grew on their faces. Going overboard went to show that Lynn had pretty much no experience whatsoever in this field, so she had to do some damage control.

''Okay that's a little too much but you get the idea right?'' She asked and immediately their vigor, skips and squealing mostly returned. Lola and Lana even locked hands and spun around in joy. Seeing that they were to busy being happy for Lynn instead of paying attention, she saw this as a good chance to get away and she sneaked off to the stairs. As she climbed the stairs, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Was _this_ what she and the others treated Lincoln to when they thought he had a crush? Lynn made a mental note to make it up to him soon because now she realized what an absolute horrifying experience it was to be sucked into the 'Sisternado'!

The racket downstairs slowly died down as Lynn went into her room and threw her paint-stained jersey off and into her pile of worn and dirty shirts. Her eyes wandered to her wall mirror, and she flexed her arms with her mirror image. Pride grew within her as she took a good look at her trim body, her developed biceps and her abdominal muscles faintly but surely coming through. So she was a little on the smaller side, but what other girl could boast about growing abs?

She undid her ponytail and compared the way she looked with her hair loose just past her shoulders. At her school it were always the well-groomed girly girls that got the boys' attention if they weren't seeking it out themselves. But a girl that took care of her body without hiding it under gallons of make-up like Lynn could certainly also catch their eyes, right? Would Francisco like girls who don't cake themselves in product? He does look like someone who would but...

Wait a second- where did that whole train of thought come from?

Lynn slipped into a clean shirt and laid down on her bed to recover a little from her chores and being mobbed by rabid sisters. Some time passed as she lightly dozed off every now and then until she heard the phone ring downstairs, followed by someone's footsteps.

''Loud residence.'' Lori spoke, followed by a brief silence as the person at the other end of the line did their say. ''Yes Mrs. Kelly, we're available tonight for the usual tariffs!'' Lynn's head peaked up. ''Anyone available for babysitting tonight?'' Lori subsequently called through the house.

A babysitting job, right when she needs one! A godsend!

She kicked open her door so hard that it probably damaged the walls. To Lynn's shock, she saw Luna and Luan already walking down the stairs, maybe going down to claim the job. Without missing a beat, she shot out of her room and flew down the stairs so fast it was difficult to tell whether she ran or tumbled down. She pushed, shoved and even vaulted over her sisters just to make it to Lori first.

''I'll do it I'll do it!'' Lynn offered when she was halfway down.

Lori was startled with Lynn's roughness, and the other two sisters were annoyed with it instead as they laid spread out at the base of the stairs. Lori was initially skeptical of Lynn's bid, but seeing a good opportunity in Lynn's offer she placed the horn back on her temple.

''My sister Lynn will be there at seven PM sharp! Have a good evening, Mrs. Kelly!'' She hung up and faced Lynn. ''Okay, Lynn you go!'' Without the other two sisters putting up any protest, it was final. Lynn cheered inwardly, the first dollars to paying William and Franklin off were in. ''And while you're at it, you can nicely pay me back what you owe me!'' Lori added casually, calling off the party Lynn had organized in her mind.

''And me!'' Luan joined in, still a little annoyed and hurt from Lynn thundering down the stairs.

''And me.'' So did Luna.

''Right.'' Lynn grumbled as she hung her head and curled her brow upon being reminded that William and Frank weren't the only ones she was in hock to. She was fortunate that there weren't any other sisters around to claim their share as well.

''Sorry dude, but grabbing hands grab everything they can!'' Luna apologized upon noticing Lynn's acrid look.

''Just don't mess this up, Lynn! The Kellies are our best clients and we don't want to ruin the trust they have in us because you literally let their nine-year old daughter do push-ups with a cinderblock on her back or something!'' Lori sternly warned her.

''Be cool, that won't happen… _again_!'' Lynn assured her irritably before she went on her way to the job, annoyed that it wouldn't net her anything tangible.

* * *

The children were fed, put to bed and all that without causing any _lasting_ injuries to them, this was one of the easiest babysitting jobs she have had so far. Lynn walked home with her payment in hand, running her thumb over the bills as she counted her reward. 35 dollars for a three-hour job; good money and Mrs. Kelly is a great tipper! But after Lynn had pocketed her wage, she remembered that there were three open hands at home, demanding Lynn to fork her bounty over to them upon returning and leaving her with nothing at all. She had done all the work, and they got the cabbage. It irritated Lynn massively, even when leaving out her issues with William.

Lynn growled and gritted her teeth. She had worked for this, it was unfair that she had to turn it over! She _was_ going to be left with something tangible. Lynn ran her fingers through the bills and skimmed off ten dollars from the bundle and stuffed it in her pocket. Lynn didn't care, she worked for this, it was _her_ money and if it wasn't for her sisters hounding her like wolves, she'd have kept it all for herself.

Once Lynn entered the house, Lori, Luna and Luan got off from the couch and immediately approached her, just as Lynn predicted. They surrounded her, as if trying to prevent their sister from slipping past and blocking her until she paid her toll. Unfazed, Lynn showed them the money.

''Chill. Here's your dough!'' She said, peeved with their with their predator-like behavior.

Lori took the bills. With Luna and Luan looking on, she quickly browsed through them and grew a miffed expression. ''25? But the Kellies always give us ten per hour, we should've gotten thirty!'' Lori wondered.

''And they always tip royally!'' Luan added. They then squinted their eyes darkly at Lynn, seeing her as the only possible reason.

''What have you done, Lynn?'' Lori mumbled darkly.

Even though she, of course, _was_ responsible, Lynn was going to deny everything. ''Nothing! She only gave me twenty!'' She gave a angry look with the nonverbal accusation thrown her way.

''But why didn't she pay the full price?'' Lori wondered.

''I don't know. I wasn't going to argue or I could've been paid nothing at all!'' Lynn grumbled, having gotten plenty of experience regarding lax payment. ''I'm going to bed.'' She ascended the stairs and left her older sisters hanging for answers.

She should've felt guilty for skimming off the earnings, but she really needed the money for herself to get out from under William's influences because her commitment to him was starting to get seriously in the way of her daily life.

* * *

**These chapters get longer and longer and it concerns me!**

**Have any of you writers ever had that you struggle on a chapter for months only to churn out 4/5****th**** of it in a matter of hours? This was one of those chapters for me!**

**What's up next? Well, I'll be awaiting the results for my poll and I hope to update Forced Staycation sometime soon again as well! But there's also another story for the Total Drama fandom that's long overdue for an update! I have to decide which one gets priority first.**

**Well, with that out of the way, I ask you to leave a review, follow, favorite and vote for the poll if you like!**

**Until next update!**

**:D,**

**Q.W.**


	4. Heart To Heart

**In Deep**

**I like to thank everyone who voted for the poll so far. The answers received so far have been helpful and much appreciated!**

**Whoever's still waiting for Forced Staycation to be updated, I have some slightly upsetting news; no I'm not cancelling it, but I ran into plenty of plotting and planning troubles and after almost crashing from the stress of trying to work them out, decided that I shouldn't split my attention on more than a few projects at the same time. On top of that I am also considering rewriting the story from scratch because aside from the plot troubles I also don't like a few other things I did that are too major to just sneakily edit the chapter for.**

**Regardless of what I am going to do, I will very likely continue on it ****once I've finished this story****. I'm sorry to those who are interested in it, but I do want to continue with the concept and the plot, even if it means starting over. If you do have a opinion on Forced Staycation and the direction of it, I'll happily receive your PM on the subject!**

**Now, on to what you're really here for!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Heart To Heart**

* * *

Lynn stretched her arms and back after a strenuous chore, which emitted a loud knack.

Lynn knew that chores were a part of her life and begrudgingly accepted that. Yet, there was a difference between doing chores to keep your house from failing apart into a sloppy mess and doing chores because you're obliged to someone who loves to make the most out of your debt. Lynn was very unfortunate to be stuck under the latter. She had only just finished one such chore.

William had summoned Lynn to his house to help him clean and clear out the attic. At her home, Cleaning the attic was one of Lynn's, as well as the rest of her siblings', least favorite tasks, but it'd feel like a cinch when they all worked together and occasionally get a good laugh when someone would step on the one loose floorboard again. Now, it was just Lynn doing this Sisyphean job by herself. William did unexpectedly tell Lynn he'd help with the job he had given her. While surprised at first, she quickly found out that his assistance would amount to little more than giving her instructions. The most helpful he was to her was getting the cleaning supplies she needed to do the job a few times but other than that, he let Lynn do the grunt work.

William admired his tidy and organized attic.

''Clean as a whistle. We did a good job.'' As he went to gloat a little more about what he described as 'their' work, Lynn turned her focus to her phone, noticing that she had gotten a text from Margo.

''_Hey Lynn, I don't know where you at, but I'm going to the cages. Hope to see you there.''_

Batting practice sounded like a good idea after having missed yesterday's practice. She only had to wait for William to give her clearance to leave. William however, took notice of Lynn using her phone, and raised a curious eyebrow along with the idea that brewed in his head.

''Give me your phone.'' He casually reached his open hand out to her.

Instinctively, Lynn did the opposite and kept it away from him.

''I'm not going to take it.'' William scoffed in annoyance at her defensive attitude. ''Geez Lynn, don't you trust me?''

Lynn gave him a flat glare. ''_Well_…''

''Lynn, your phone.'' William's expression was grimmer the second time he asked. It was unwise to let him get into her phone, but she handed the device over to William knowing that he had some threats ready if she didn't comply.

William swiped and tapped in silence as Lynn looked on. ''Don't expect to find nudes or anything on there, you perv.''

Whether his humor was genuine or only to entertain her wit, William chuckled audibly as he finished what he meant to do and handed Lynn her smartphone back. Immediately, Lynn checked it for anything malicious William could've done, but found no trace of ill intent.

''What did you want it for?'' Lynn asked, suspicious.

''I've added my number!''

''What do you need my number for?'' Unnecessary as the question may've been, Lynn wanted to know because something about William having her number felt unsettling.

William began explaining as they walked down the stairs. ''We think you're perfect for an errand we want you to run. The thing is, Frank and I have something else on our schedule tomorrow and we don't know yet when we're done with them. So we'll give you a ring or a text tomorrow when we'll need you!''

Lynn froze up. She tried to look calm on the surface, but William's words did force a quiet gasp out of her. She had to recompose herself before responding. ''No way, I'm not available! I got a super important baseball match tomorrow!''

''And you can go as you please!'' William said, acting like he was reassuring but easily showing that he didn't really care. ''Just be ready to fulfill your commitments to your friends when they need you to!''

''We can-'' Lynn tried to protest but William had opened the door and gently pushed her out by her collar, and this dismissive attitude irritated Lynn the most.

''See you around, sugar plum!''

_BAM_

There Lynn stood in front of a door slammed shut. She banged onto it a few times to vent her anger. ''Prick!''

Quickly, she pulled her phone again and checked the weather forecast. If the match was going to be rained out, it wouldn't clash with William's errand. Too bad the forecast predicted great and sunny weather, normally music to her ears but now it quelled all hope she had for that scenario; she had a big problem now. She walked to her bike, her steps quick and erratic from the anxiety building up; rays of sunlight reflected off of the thin layer of attic dust that previously coated Lynn's skin fluttered all around her. Perhaps if she put her mind off of it and went for some much-needed relaxation that she could calm down and come up with a solution.

* * *

True to the text she had gotten, Lynn saw Margo near the batting cages, sitting by herself on the curb and spinning her bat on the pavement out of boredom. She had heard someone cycling towards her, but Margo realized it was Lynn when the latter braked and her tires screeched on the street.

''Hey Margo.'' Lynn greeted her as if they had seen each other just ten minutes prior as she put her bike in a stand, but once Lynn looked up she was hostilely approached by Margo her with her arms stretched out.

''Where were you?! We all missed you at baseball yesterday! I've tried to call you, but you didn't pick up! I called your family and no one knew where you were!'' It sounded like Margo sternly rebuked Lynn, but she could just as easily have been worried sick for her best friend.

Spooked by this hostile reception, Lynn held her hands in front of her. ''I had business I needed taken care of.''

Margo crossed her arms and gave her friend a dark glower. ''_Business_? You've always got to our practices on time and never skipped any, _None_! Remember a few weeks back when you chewed Wanda out when she was ten minutes late? She almost _cried _by the time you were done with her and now you don't show up all of a sudden just because of some lost bet right before a championship match? What's going on, Lynn?''

It felt like Margo was onto Lynn. The prying glare seemed to stare right through her. She remained frozen as her pupils darted around, for a flash it seemed like a reasonable idea to confess her troubles to her best friend. But Lynn was proud; the memory of William and Frank completely humiliating her with their laughter and mockery was still fresh. She had vowed that this time, she'd deal with her tormentors all by herself; her honor would not allow help from _anyone_.

Lynn inched closer to Margo, twiddled with her fingers. ''Can I let you in on a secret?'' Her subdued demeanor arousing Margo's curiosity. ''I was practicing a cheer routine somewhere quiet and I didn't want to be disturbed… or_ found_.'' As she told her lie, Lynn then dreadfully remembered that she did have to do so as well on top of everything else.

Her answer both puzzled and stupefied Margo. Her mouth was slightly agape and her eyebrow raised, which quickly formed into a frown instead. ''And that's more important than practising for our championship game? Coach Honda was not happy with your absence yesterday. You'll be in trouble tomorrow.''

Lynn glanced awkwardly and rubbed her arm. ''I know, but I just don't wanna foul it up any worse than I already have.''

Margo pointed her bat at Lynn and used the tip to gently push Lynn's head to let their faces meet. ''Lynn, everyone knows that the Hares are a bunch of blowhards but they're not unreasonable! Even they will give you time to learn something. You lost that bet, but it doesn't matter to me if you only do two skips and a jump for a cheer, it matters that you abandoned us when we're about to play a big game! Especially because you hyped us all up for it! You can't do that when you play in a team, Lynn.''

Lynn could only reply with a dispirited shrug, having no way to counter her words, being the wiser of the two best friends as always. She folded her hands on her stomach and hung her head slightly. ''You're right. I'm sorry. I've been stupid to take on that dare.''

''Promise that you won't abandon us during the match!''

Lynn held her hand up solemnly. ''I'm sorry for ditching you yesterday. I promise. I won't let us down tomorrow.''

Seeing Lynn humble and guilty was more than enough for Margo and rewarded her friend with a nudge to her shoulder. ''No biggie.''

The grief in her head made way for comfort, which she hadn't felt in a while. She basked in the good feeling more than she paid attention to her surroundings while she and Margo headed for a cage, and surely enough someone walked into her when they went around a corner.

''Hey! Watch where you're going, you…'' Lynn was ready to give whoever bumped into her a piece of her mind, but quickly swallowed all the cusses back into her throat when she saw who did. ''Francisco!''

''Hey Lynn, Margo!'' He greeted them casually, flanked by two other boys who Lynn and Margo knew as his closest friends; Donnie and Raymond. The former seemed more bashful about meeting the girls. Donnie began to nervously rub his hands with a hunched posture while Francisco's other friend was the exact opposite; Raymond smiled suavely and leaned against a wall, eyeing Lynn specifically.

''Hey guys. What's up?'' Margo asked.

''Not much. Donnie here got a little overconfident and thought he could hit my pitches while blindfolded… but now he owes us a coke!'' Francisco said, jerking a thumb over to his friend. Donnie stuffed his hands in his pocket and kicked a pebble in annoyance over his defeat.

''You can come with us too, I'll pay!'' Raymond said. But while his offer sounded kind, his hungry gaze and equally wanting smile put Lynn off massively, as he always did to her.

She choose to ignore him and focused on Francisco instead. ''Well you are the best pitcher around so he got what he had coming.''

Francisco chuckled at his friends' miserable response and turned back to Lynn. ''You're here to train your bat a little for the big game tomorrow? You got to be better than when I threw you out!''

Lynn shrugged it off and crossed her arms and chuckled breezily. ''Seeing me in a cheerleader skirt must be the only thing on your mind right now. Is it, Chicano sleaze?''

Lynn's sudden bold attitude bewildered everyone; Margo obscured her mouth and pitched a laugh for the sheer suddenness and balsiness of her remark; Francisco's friends were stunned because they thought even they couldn't call him that and Francisco reeled back slightly as if he was literally blown off his feet. But Lynn herself was perhaps the most shocked with her tone and especially her language, regretting it immediately after she had said it. Lynn loved to trash talk, but maybe now she had crossed a line. Instinctively she had looked away in embarrassment and compiled an apology in advance of the rebuke that she was sure to get.

''Whoa whoa, _Cuban _sleaze eh.'' Francisco said. With a slight peek, Lynn tried to catch a glimpse of a offended gaze, but to her surprise he seemed to be amused instead. ''Don't get us mixed up, it's offensive to me to be compared to them!''

Still confused but having overcome the shock, Lynn placed one hand in her hip and rubbed the back of her head with the other. ''Well… I know squat about cheers so I got to practice a lot for a good one.''

Francisco answered with a light shrug. ''Eh don't worry. Get over with that championship game first. I can wait!''

For a second, Margo could swear that she saw Lynn smile; not her usual, vividly determined smiles but instead a daintily, girlish smirk which made her cast a grin of her own.

Lynn scoffed haughtily. She lifted the ball cap Francisco wore off his head, put it on her own and crossed her arms. ''At least we made it to a championship game, Franny! Meanwhile, you and your band of trash stranded in the play-offs, to Sparta G.L.C of all teams! We're going to win this with an arm tied behind our backs.''

Francisco chuckled cynically with a humored smile. ''I'd like to see you try!''

Lynn slid up to Francisco, so close that she could feel his breath. ''Oh really? Want to make another bet again, Franny?''

''You sure you wanna have to do _two_ cheers?'' Donnie asked.

Raymond hollered and pointed at them. ''Oooh! Strike!'' He shared a lo-five with Donnie before the laughed, not holding back much in their vigor.

Lynn stiffened on the spot, their laughter drilled into her skull and seemed to call bad memories both recent and past from her consciousness. Her teeth were clenched behind her lips; one of her eyes twitched very slightly; her arms hung besides with fists balled and she would've used them if Francisco didn't make work of stopping his friends laughter.

''Guys, come on, stop.'' With a few light punches to both of his friends he managed to shut them up and subtly pushed them along to the street. ''We better go before they get _really_ annoying.''

Lynn tittered quietly over a mental image that Francisco's friend evoked in her. ''You should muzzle them!''

Francisco pitched a short humored chuckle himself before he took his cap back from Lynn's head in a smooth motion. ''Don't lose too hard tomorrow!''

''I'm gonna disappoint you there, Franny!'' Lynn said with a small, casual wave of her hand.

Both Lynn and Margo kept looking at the boys until Raymond then suddenly turned around and came back to them. Margo seemingly took it as a sign to go and look for a empty batting cage but Lynn remained rooted on the spot with a scowl trained at the boy.

Raymond eyed Lynn in the same way he eyed her all the time; smug and self-conceited as if he owned Lynn and thought it was his right to do so. ''Hey, so, if you _really_ don't want to go out with me then-''

''Beat it, Raymond!'' Was Lynn's crass response, which promptly sent him scurrying after Francisco and Donnie while Lynn kept a disdainful look trained on him and muttered under her breath, cursing the moment she caught his fancy instead of literally anyone else. ''Creep.''

While Lynn devoted her attention to watching the boys leave, had Margo found an empty cage and shouted to get her attention. ''Hey Lynn, over here!''

''Can I go first?'' Lynn asked. She didn't await the answer and headed straight for the baseplate with Margo's bat in her grasp. Margo didn't mind and instead gathered the baseballs strewn around in the cage, which the previous occupants didn't bother to clean up. _Rude_.

Lynn loosened her arms and bent through her knees slightly in preparation for some batting. She expected to be able to start presently when Margo had almost loaded the pitching machine up, but Margo had a question she had been itching to ask as she picked up the last few stray baseballs, and with nothing to distract Lynn from answering, now was a perfect moment to do so.

''So… just asking but…'' Margo leaned against the machine. ''…when are you going to tell him?''

''Tell who what?'' Lynn genuinely didn't know what Margo was referring to.

''Francisco, that you're crushing _so_ hard on him!''

Lynn almost stumbled back. First her sisters hounding her for her _alleged_ crush and now her best friend was into this madness as well? How much longer would it take before all of Royal Woods to start pestering her with it?

''I'm not going to listen.'' Lynn offhandedly waved off Margo's curiosity and bent her knees with her bat ready to strike. She was fed up with the subject before they had even really begun about it. ''Start the pitcher!''

''Why else are you putting so much effort into having a good cheer routine?'' Margo asked with a smirk.

Lynn groaned, she was no longer getting annoyed, but angry instead. ''Because, Margo Geraldine Roberts, I'm a girl of my word, even to my rivals!'' She walked over to her friend and strongly prodded a finger into Margo's chest. But Lynn could be as threatening as she wanted to be, Margo kept her unfazed smile. ''I lost that bet and I'm obliged to do my part, and _not_ because I crush on him!''

''Okay then Lynn if you're so sure you're not wet for Francisco, then what's up with that nickname you gave him; 'Franny'? Then there's the love letter you slid in his helmet-''

Lynn interrupted Margo with a loud groan at the drop of the dreaded word. Her body tensed up while she looked away from the glare of her best friend that pestered her. ''My sisters riled me up to give him that letter! But I bet he didn't even get to read it because that helmet wasn't Francisco's, but Raymond Best's! The creep's been chasing me around for weeks now! So look what got me that!''

''And why is he the only one you ever give compliments to no matter how pointless? That he runs well, how he has a great catching technique- whatever! You'll be hard-pressed to even praise your own teammates when they've played well, unless it's wrapped in some sort of slam!''

''Y-you've always got a great swing.'' Lynn said.

What Margo viewed as damage control wasn't enough to wipe the grin off of her face. In fact, Lynn's fumbling seemed to make it grow a little. ''Paula even started a betting pool with the rest of the Squirrels on how much longer it'll take for you to spill it to Francisco!''

Lynn was appalled with this news. After reeling from the surprise, she tilted her head forward to give her best friend a intimidating look from beneath her eyebrows. ''Did you place a bet?''

For a moment, Margo's superior smirk and confidence in her own right faded as she let her eyes dart around, going anywhere to avoid meeting Lynn's as her smile formed into a sheepish grin. ''No I didn't.''

Lynn shook with a look of utter disgust, the smile convincing of the contrary. ''Geez Margo…''

Margo swung an arm around Lynn and pulled her moody friend close to her side. ''Just stop pretending, Lynn. You're like that guy from that movie, the True Man Show! Everyone knows what's going on except for you!''

Having been aggravated by Margo's teasing, Lynn pushed herself from Margo with minor force and sternly pointed at her. ''Now you listen and you listen _good_; I do _not_ have a crush on him or on any other boy and I do _not_ care about Francisco or any of those Hare dolts! Got it?''

Having made her point and not wanting to lurch on the subject any further, Lynn walked back to the batting plate. But Lynn's answer was nothing short of baloney to Margo. She squinted her eyes slightly and lightly shook her head with the same knowing smirk. ''That's cute!''

Lynn halted and shot a glance over her shoulder. ''What's, _cute_?''

''I once thought boys had cooties too.'' Margo squinted her eyes as her smirk turned whimsical. ''But then I turned _eight_!''

Lynn clasped her hands to her head and in a haze of fury brought forward by the endless teasing, she slung the baseball bat at Margo, who barely managed to duck down as it crashed into the fence behind. ''Stop it Margo-'' Lynn paused to utter a roar. ''Just _stop it_!''

When she looked back up, Margo saw how her friend heaved with anger as she furiously paced around the plate, hoping to calm herself down with the repetition. Margo knew she'd press Lynn's buttons but never imagined her to give a reaction this violent. She didn't understand where it came from, but still realized that she had gone too far. She began to feel sorry about her behavior and cautiously walked up to Lynn. With some risk to be attacked, she placed a comforting hand on Lynn's shoulder; she initially jerked violently towards Margo, but mellowed out once she saw Margo meant well.

''I'm sorry for that Lynn but what I wanna say is I'm your friend, and you can tell me and it'll stay between you and me alone.'' Margo said, calm and reassuring, beginning to sound as if she was one of Lynn's blood sisters. ''It's okay to just admit that you have the hots for someone, Lynn. There's no shame to it. You know I think Donnie Klavan is a real cutie too, right? He's with the Hares as well so you're not the only one who has a crush on a guy from them.''

While she spoke, Lynn could and wanted to object to a lot that Margo told her, but she remained quiet; trying to deduct whether Margo tried to coax her into admitting her 'feelings' to Francisco around this time so Margo could win her bet. It was the only reason why she'd make such a big deal out of this.

''But if you want Francisco to notice you, you got to tell him in some way.'' Margo tittered quietly. ''And I mean with words, and not by flinging a jockstrap at him!''

Lynn cocked her head and groaned in annoyance, but she couldn't keep her mouth from arching into a small smile. ''That was a joke! Are you going to razz me on that forever?''

Margo crouched down to gather the last few balls strewn around. ''It sure is a strange way to let that Cuban Romeo of yours know you're into him!''

''Quit blabbering and start the pitcher!''

Margo inserted a ball so Lynn could _finally_ practice her swing. The leather sphere flew towards Lynn at a dazzling speed, and throwing a mighty swing with her bat to send the ball flying was almost as great a relief to Lynn as it was to have had Margo's interrogation behind her.

* * *

Lynn came home to the Loud family's common occurrences of the late afternoon. Dad was happily preparing dinner; mom sat at the dining table reading and writing at the same time; several of her siblings had gathered on or around the couch in wait for dinner; Lori, Luna and Luan awaited Lynn by the door with gritted teeth…

Wait… that last one only happens on a _uncommon_ basis.

''Lynn…'' Lori snorted as the three of them blocked Lynn's way similar to how they did so the previous day.

Lynn acted breezily, figuring that knowing Lori she was overreacted to something petty again and she knew how to deal with such situations. ''What's up? Did Bobby like another random girl's post? Just inhale, and exhale!''

''Don't be funny with me, thief!'' Lori responded curtly, the drop of her last word was enough for Lynn to immediately understand what they were mad about. Lori peeked her head into the dining room to summon a higher authority. ''Mom! Lynn stole money!''

Immediately, Rita came to them with a face of approaching thunder. Lynn shrunk a little, intimidated with their mother's involvement. It was going to be difficult to save her money.

''Is that so, Lynn?''

''She nabbed some of our cash!'' Luna said before Lynn could answer.

''I didn't take anything! I've handed everything that I got yesterday over to you wolves!'' Lynn said.

''That's not what Ms. Kelly said!'' Luan angrily pointed out, her hands firmly placed in her hips.

''We've looked everywhere in your room already and we know you have it, brah! Hand it over!'' Luna said. She reached her hands out to Lynn to search her, which she angrily swatted away. She tried again with Luan helping her next-oldest sister.

''Let go of me!'' Lynn wasn't going to hold back resisting being held down by her sisters and threw low kicks at them to keep them away. Her aggressive response further riled her sisters up and Luna and Luan seemed ready to fight back as well if their mother hadn't gotten in between the three of them.

''All of you, calm down! Who's going to tell me what's going on or do I have to ground all of you?'' Rita asked.

''When Lynn got less than our hourly rates should've gotten her. We got suspicious so I gave Ms. Kelly a call. I got in literally a big argument with her and as it turns out, Ms. Kelly didn't give Lynn here 25 dollars, but _35_!'' Lori tried to sound calm while she explained the situation, and trying at that.

''And you believe her over me?'' Lynn asked, insulted.

Lori crossed her arms and cast a condemning glare down on Lynn. ''Right now, we are.''

Lynn threw up her arms. ''You're all being really unfair accusing me of stealing it!''

''Lynn Loretta Loud Jr., if this is true…'' Their mother began, and that was when Lynn knew that their mother was not on her side, it was already over. The risk of a punishment even more severe than she was risking right now was too great to keep on denying.

''Yes... I took it.'' It was pointless for Lynn to fight and to avoid one of her mother's infamous lectures, she glanced at the floor in defeat.

Her mother bent over her and sharply pointed a finger up. ''You still better have that money young lady or else!''

Lynn dug her hand into her pocket. She kept her money on her person the entire time because, as opposed to some of her siblings, she lacked a proper hiding spot to stash her money. She had heard of her siblings' more creative hiding places. Up until shortly, Luna hid her money in the sound-boxes of her acoustic guitars; Lana is said to hide hers in the dirt of her reptile terrariums, specifically the ones that have a nasty bite, and no one knows where Lola keeps her bills, and many of them are admittedly too afraid to go find it out as well.

''You're all blowing your lids for only ten bucks?'' Lynn asked.

''Not just that Lynn! You almost cost us one of our oldest and best clients!'' Lori said.

The moment Lynn showed the bills, Lori swiped it out of Lynn's grasp quicker than she could register. Lori then split the money, giving her sisters two and keeping six dollars for herself. This earned her the ire of Luna and Luan, but they didn't make a big deal out of it beyond shooting her a glare.

With the dispute settled, the sisters went to the couch while it was time for Rita to sentence Lynn. ''Now Lynn, you know how I think about stealing, and I hope you'll understand how your lies could have bad consequences and as punishment, you're going to have to pay twenty dollars into the family holiday jug!''

''Okay mom.''

''Now sit there until dinner's ready!'' Her mother pointed a finger at the couch as sternly as she sounded. With a slouch to her step, Lynn went to sit with Leni and Lincoln.

''Why did you steal that money Lynn?'' Leni asked, firm but motherly.

Lori's curiosity was aroused by Leni's question. ''Yeah, you don't normally don't steal anything but bases.''

''Didn't you get enough from Margo's paper route?'' Leni continued.

Feeling a hot flash quickly taking her over, she hoped no one heard Leni say what Lynn told her earlier. ''Leni…''

''Paper route?'' Lori repeated. Too late, the cat's out of the bag and all of the siblings had their focus trained on her. ''Lynn doesn't have a paper route.''

''Yes she does! Me and Chaz saw her a few days ago delivering the-'' Leni tried to say, but Lynn quickly silenced her by shoving her hands into her face.

''Leni, what did I tell you? That was a favor I did for Margo!'' Lynn said.

''When you have your championship match tomorrow?'' Lucy inquired.

''Shouldn't you be training for it?'' Lori asked, jerking a finger at Lynn.

''Yup… but she'll owe me for what I did!'' Lynn answered with a confident smirk.

''Ah…_ha_.'' Lori didn't seem to be convinced, but judging from how she slowly shifted her focus back to her phone and went typing again, she didn't care much. Similarly, the rest of their siblings went back to their business as well.

Hoping she'd finally be done with her nosy siblings, it was again Lincoln who had a question ready.

''What did you need the money for?'' Lincoln asked.

Like flies on a turd, Lynn just could _not_ be left to be in this house.

''What's it to you?'' Lynn asked with a grumble as she crossed her arms.

''Relax, I don't judge.'' Lincoln calmly assured her.

Rolling her eyes, Lynn figured that the best way to get it over with was to answer. ''A present, okay?''

Lincoln seemed confused and Lynn remembered that no one was having their birthday within now and a month. To her luck however, a quiet squeal escaped out of the depths of Leni's throat. She proceeded to whisper an entire monologue to Lincoln. What it was about? Lynn didn't really care as it kept Lincoln's attention away from her and her problems.

Despite how she acted, it wasn't needed for Lynn to be upset. As she thought about the situation, she realized her flimsy scheme was doomed to fail from the very start. There was no way she could keep the others from finding out she skimmed off of her earnings. Fortunately, probably because she admitted to the crime pretty quickly she got off comparably light with the sentence she's got, especially given that their parents put up with a lot of their bad behavior, but wouldn't tolerate stealing, alongside cussing, _at all_. It was a bullet that only left a graze. The only problem she had now was that she was back at square one getting money to pay off her debt.

Though Lynn hoped that her sisters hadn't left her room in a mess in search for that money…

* * *

**Originally I was going to add the ball game to this chapter as well, but it was already pretty long the way it turned out now so I decided to cut it in two. It did make this chapter feel a bit like a filler chapter, and I haven't done much of those before; feels odd. That's why it took so long, or one of the reasons, for it to be uploaded.**

**But anyway, I'm happy I got this out right before my birthday and I hope you're happy that I updated something! Read, review, fave, follow, vote if you'd like or take a look at my other stories if you have a moment and I hope to be back with anything soon!**

**:D,**

**Q.W.**


	5. The Running Girl

**In Deep**

**I aimed to have this story done by the end of 2019… **

**-Yes, feel free to laugh at that ambition and how far I've got instead!**

**Writing this chapter was awful. Chapters with a lot of action are very awkward to write, hence why it took so long to be completed. To hopefully make up for that, this chapter is a little longer than usual, because there's plenty of stuff going down, and I think I can squeeze out the remaining chapters on short notice!**

**On a different note, writing this chapter did improve my baseball/softball lexicon! **

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Running Girl**

* * *

The night that passed was bitter ironic; Lynn didn't have any unsettling dreams... because she had hardly any sleep at all. She endlessly tossed in her bed trying her hardest to get some rest. The sandman may've tried his hardest, he could even empty a truckload of his dust in her eyes, but Lynn would remain awake over the worries of the next day, up until the moment she joined the lengthy bathroom queue behind some of her sisters. Luna, Lucy, Luan and Lana waited for Lola to be done with her 'beauty treatment', though the line rarely meant much as arguments over who either wanted or 'deserved' to go next broke out frequently. But Lynn was too occupied with her thoughts to wage the discussion now.

''Hey dude, can I have some too?'' Luna asked Luan.

From the back of the line, Lynn saw Luan rubbing acne cream on her face. Lynn puffed quietly; it was only a small consolation, but of all of her worries, acne wasn't one of them.

It was the day of her championship match against the Beaverton Glory. William _would_ call, Lynn just knew he would to mess with her. Even worse, she currently didn't have any solution that'd help her juggle her match and her commitment at the same time. She realized how lucky she was that she was playing a home match or it would definitely have been impossible. However, was she lucky with that? If she was in Beaverton she'd have no choice but to focus on the match; it would've made making a choice much easier.

Then slowly something horrific began to dawn onto Lynn instead: there was currently no school and baseball was the last of her sports left that was still going on before the summer. Lynn grew a pale tinge when the realization turned into a dreadful prospect of still having to deal with William when summer passed and school and her other sports would start again, and how difficult it would be to deal with that all at once.

Too consumed with the horrible image, Lynn was oblivious to Lincoln coming out of his room, strutting to his place in the line behind his sisters.

''Mornin', Lynn.'' Lincoln spooked his sister with his greeting as he slid up to her. and leaned against the wall.

''Hey.'' Lynn quietly replied, giving him a nod over her shoulder. Too consumed with her own dilemmas, she tried to ignore her brother and hoped that he'd do the same. But the sleazy, mischievous smile carved on his face didn't bode well.

''So… I heard you got a boyfriend!''

''_Yes_.'' She breathed through her teeth. Lincoln wasn't there with the rest, but their sisters doubtlessly spilled Lynn's little reveal to him already. She looked in front of her, and saw her sisters shooting her all kinds of teasing gestures, such as Luna wiggling her eyebrows, Lana batting her eyelashes and Luan making kissy faces, all of them with big grins on their faces; how mocking those smiles felt to Lynn. She cursed herself for ever having come up with that lie.

''Funny thing, I sometimes imagine that you and Clyde would eventually-''

Lincoln didn't get to finish as Lynn pulled him in a painful hold, bending Lincoln's arm tightly on his back close to the point of breaking. Lynn was absolutely _not_ the in mood for this topic.

''Finish that sentence and I'll lay a knot in your extension cord!'' Lynn breathed into his face. Lincoln could only squeak due to his throat in fright.

When Lynn let go of her brother, the first thing he did after taking in some much-needed oxygen was cupping his hands over his crotch and slowly backing away from Lynn; the threat clear as glass to him and unwilling to find out of she'd go through wit it. The sisters ahead of them in line were startled by Lynn's unwarranted aggression.

''That was… uncalled for.'' Lucy breathed.

''I get that you're nervous for the game brah, but harsh much?'' Luna asked with one of her eyebrows cocked in curbed disdain.

''Oh I'm sorry you brought me _a little_ on edge with your badgering!'' Lynn said. The looks she got from them left no doubt that they still did not understand nor approve of the extent she took her irritation.

What was Lynn doing in the bathroom line anyway? She could do anything she had to be in the bathroom for in the kitchen sink. Using the bathroom before a match would bring bad luck, and Lynn was going to need all the good fortunes she could get today.

Abandoning the line and heading to the kitchen, Lynn came across the family's trophy case and glanced at the amount of trophies she had won: for BMX, soccer, football, lacrosse, roller derby and ice hockey as well. Going through her awards once again made her ponder over today's situation, her absent glance multiplied in the reflection of her trophies.

Lynn knew that she had promise Margo not to abandon them, and another award always looked nice on her shelf. If she gave it all, she was certain she could win even without the right amount of practice, or without her lucky bat Gregory. The glory of winning yet another title, award, trohpy; that feeling would never grow old to her. Not to mention it'd feel like a nice compensation for the 'bad luck debacle' last time.

But…

Yesterday, she had lost the money she tried to save to pay William off, and was given a twenty dollar 'fine' as punishment on top of it. By ignoring William, he'd add another ten dollars to her debt. It sounded like a small sum, but Lynn calculated that the 60 dollars she 'owed' William, coupled with her twenty dollar punishment, the ten dollars William was going to add would mean that she had a loss of_ 90 _dollars since she got involved with him which was besides the crippling debts she still had running with her siblings.

She kept standing, but had to accept that her trophies weren't going to give an answer to her conundrum either. Lynn headed for the kitchen as the match that worried where it should excite her, inched closer.

* * *

The game was well underway; the crowd frequently roared in excitement. The Squirrels' mascot further energized both players as well as the audience with dances and agile jumps; a remarkable feat in spite of wearing a 30-pound head and a suffocating suit on a pretty hot day. The match going on gave the audience all reasons to cheer: the Beaverton Glory and the Squirrels delivered a great spectacle. The innings didn't last very long as both teams delivered amazing defensive plays halfway through the fifth and second to last inning. The home crowd remained optimistic and gave another hurrah just as batter Noor went up for the Squirrels. One of the commentators decided to speak up from his box.

''Now batting for the Squirrels is Noor Traïdia! The Glory currently leads but the Squirrels are still going strong! Both teams are making the audience's entry tickets worth every penny in this B-E-A-utiful match! I tell ya this is one of those perfect Saturdays, Pep!'' One of the commentators spoke, not holding back on his enthusiasm.

''My perfect Saturday means watching Sickflix with the curtains closed, Burt.'' The co-commentator responded, contrarily curt and moody.

Someone who didn't share the buzz with the spectators was Lynn. She observed the match from their team's dugout, wincing in annoyance over witnessing Noor being caught out. It wasn't reassuring to Lynn's situation at all: all match long, the Glory had been dominant, leading by two points. Meanwhile, as her team struggled to get even, she could receive a text from William with a time and a place any time now, and the prospect of having to leave while the team was trailing behind the Glory as the match was nearing its climax was not pretty, very risky even. Lynn seemed calm, but restlessness brewed just below the surface.

Coach Honda demanded the highest attention during matches. She would confiscate any phone in the hands of her players during matches and not give them back until the end of the season. This was why Lynn had to sneak off to the locker room to check for messages, but her phone's inbox had been empty so far. Maybe _now_ she got the message.

''I'm going to get some water.'' Lynn said, rising to her feet.

''Again?'' Margo asked, who was seated next to her.

''Yeah… my gullet is super dry.'' For emphasis, Lynn lightly brushed against her throat.

''Here, take mine.'' Margo reached down to offer her bottle.

Lynn calmly waved it off. ''No thanks.''

''Lynn, don't be stupid.'' Margo responded, her tone as insistent as her glare.

''It's bad luck to drink on the pitch.'' Lynn hastily replied.

Shaking her head, Margo breathed a weary sigh. ''Are you never getting tired of all those good luck charms and superstitions? You should be better than that.''

Lynn relented; she could only worsen the situation if she got herself and Margo in a discussion. Reluctantly, she took a swig out of the bottle.

''Maybe if you trained more often you wouldn't need them.'' Sharon, who sat next to Margo, said. ''Or that fancy bat you bragged with all the time!''

''You should've trained for baseball instead of playing hockey with Francisco!'' Wanda next to her agreed.

Confused but on alert, Lynn curled her brows. She should know better but she had to know what Wanda meant.

''Hockey? What are you going on about now?''

Before Wanda answered, she couldn't help herself when a snort prematurely snuck out. ''Tonsil hockey!''

Lynn's face pinkened as she was at a loss for a retort. Sharon offered Wanda a lo-five over her joke; her crack was well-received with the other Squirrels, who giggled heartily. Even Margo couldn't keep a straight face, but she was decent enough to apologetically cover her grin up.

Lynn grimaced and crossed her arms. She could go up against Wanda with ease, she wanted to as well. Fortunately her last shred of reason assured it wasn't worth the waste of energy. Lynn settled on a flat, insincere chuckle and a snipe instead. ''Ha ha ha I've got tears in my eyes from laughing, Wanda!''

Wanda frowned, she knew exactly what Lynn was aiming at with that remark. She shrugged it off with a cold smirk. ''You know what you and your colon have in common Lynn? You're both full of shit!''

Another round of chortles followed. Lynn had kept her cool but she wouldn't be able to resist another volley of laughter at her expense. Margo noticed the telltale daggers Lynn glared at Wanda when she was about to get really angry. She decided to step in before the latter would get herself stabbed, thinking she owed it to her friend as well after laughing moments earlier.

''Now it's not funny anymore Wanda, knock it off.'' Margo sternly said while standing in-between Lynn and the sitting Wanda, turning to Lynn next. ''Lynn, you're up for bat in a few turns, relax; you're not on your A-game when stressed.''

''Thanks Margo, thanks.'' Lynn breathed calmly, delivering a appreciative nudge to her friend's arm before sitting back down.

However, in the time that their conversation took place, the Squirrels didn't exactly improve their game. Squirrel batters Meghan and Jill had gained two more outs and ended their inning.

''Change sides!'' The umpire bellowed.

''Girls! In! We're up for defense!'' Coach Honda shouted.

Disheartened, Lynn crunched her fingers into fists before going after her teammates with mitt in hand. The team still trailed in the score and she still couldn't check for messages. The only option she could fall back on was to retire the Glory as quick as the Squirrels have been this inning.

''Okay everyone, damage control! Let's throw them out as soon as possible!'' Lynn barked. She sounded aggressive and determined because of her predicament, but for now her team only saw this as Lynn acting as her usual self.

The commentators watching the match from their box spoke as the Squirrels took their positions on the field.

''The Squirrels blew their chance to get even with the Glory. That's unfortunate, but it's the way the ball rolls in baseball. The-'' Burt the commentator suddenly halted his narration to check the documents laying on the desk in front of him. ''Wait a minute, baseball? The Squirrels are a softball team. That must be a mistake, Pep.''

''Everything I did in my life that lead up to this feels like a big mistake.'' The co-commenter replied bluntly, devoid of sympathy.

To appease her fortunes, Lynn took a hand of dirt and threw it over her shoulder as the batter for the Glory approached the home plate.

''Batter up!'' The umpire called.

From her new position on the field, the shortstop, Lynn could see the batter approach home plate. But instead of getting ready to bat. the opponent instead tapped her helmet several times along with kicking dust off the plate, something Lynn recognized as a good luck ritual. Lynn tried to keep her cool, but the agitation in her slowly began seeping out, not in the last place because she couldn't have the batter losing her time.

''Hey doll, can you please bat _before_ we graduate high school?'' Lynn shouted with hands cupped over her mouth to amplify her voice. The Squirrels around her, Margo being one of them, gave her odd looks.

The Glory batter looked offended, but Lynn's sneer nonetheless seemed to have effect as she took position to bat.

''Play ball!'' The umpire shouted with a raise of his arm.

After a brief assessment of the situation, Sharon winded her arm thrice before she swung the ball towards home plate. Impressive as the pitch was, the batter sent it gliding over the diamond with a well-timed swing. Lynn could chase after it, but it was far out of her zone; she had to watch helplessly how right fielder Yara chased after it while the batter could run to the safety of the second base before the Squirrels could do anything about it. The batter shot Lynn a dirty glare probably for the taunt Lynn just gave her; Lynn shot one right back.

The next batter took place at the home plate. Fortunately, this one had no rituals to undertake before drawing her bat. Sharon winded another pitch; the batter failed to hit it and the catcher caught it tightly in his mitt.

''Strike!'' The umpire roared.

Lynn pumped her arm. Maybe now her luck was finally starting to look up, but she was better off not hoping so. That the batter endured one strike proved nothing. Sharon's second pitch was easy fare for him as the ball flew with a nice arch over the diamond into the far field.

Maybe Lynn could still tag out the incoming batter if she got the ball from her teammates quickly, but failing to catch the ball mid-air, fielder Meghan wasted crucial seconds running after it. When Lynn received the ball, the batter was already safe at second base while the first runner had reached home plate and further widened the gap in the score to the Glory's favor.

Trying as she did to keep a cool head, Lynn's frustration was starting to get to her. Her free hand clenched into a fist as she shot a glower over her teammate on the mound.

''Thanks a lot, _Meg_! Catch it next time!'' She shouted at her teammate in the far field. How Meghan responded, Lynn didn't know because she immediately turned to the mound to give the other perceived culprit an earful.

''Reminder, Sharon; they're _not_ supposed to hit them!'' Lynn shouted at her other teammate. Other than a glare over her shoulder, Sharon didn't grant Lynn a response.

The next batter was up. Lynn pounded her fist in her mitt; if her team wasn't going to get them back in the dugout, she had to do it herself. Another pitch from Sharon was launched at the home plate, and while it had a nice spin, the batter hit it.

In a split-second, Lynn saw her chance. The ground ball was gliding low above the grass and coming straight for her position. Dashing off of her spot, Lynn dove headfirst into the dust just as the ball was to fly past her. The feeling of leather impacting in her mitt showed that Lynn's choose a great course of action.

The batter was out, the crowd began to cheer but Lynn wasn't done yet. Putting the ball in her free hand in one swift motion, Lynn lunged her arm up just as the runner from second base jumped over her. Lynn's arm grazing along her opponent's leg made her lose her balance mid-air. The crowd cheered even louder, her team joined in as well, even Sharon; there was no denying it that Lynn had just personally secured a double play.

The runner sauntered off, while Lynn shot up with the ball held triumphantly above her. Several teammates close by came to celebrate with her.

''That was all me! That's how you're supposed to do it!'' Lynn shouted vividly. Indirectly, she meant it as a reproach to her team, but all of them were too busy cheering to notice.

She scanned the crowd and after a quick search she saw her family in the stands, wearing team colors and cheering her on. She felt pride, but the high wore off very quickly remembering her other task.

''Come on come on, back to your spots!'' She hastily told her teammates, almost pushing them away to follow her orders. Fortunately, they dispersed quickly.

People cheering and celebrating their success was one of the things Lynn loved most about playing sports. Lynn cocked her head slightly at the thought, It saddened her slightly that she couldn't bask in that feeling but with William's incoming text she had no time to lost.

Lynn eyed the Glory's bench until the next batter headed for the home plate.

''Send out your next victim, Beaverton.'' Lynn muttered under her breath, determined to perform another stunt, both for the grandeur as well as her own goals.

Once at the plate, Sophie winded her arm several times before shooting the ball forward with a nice spin to it. The batter didn't move a muscle as the ball flew past him.

The umpire assessed the situation briefly before raising his arm. ''Ball.''

Lynn grimaced in disbelief. From where she stood, she swore that the ball went well through the strike zone. Her annoyance with the situation didn't end there; she shook her head as Sharon took a moment to think.

Sharon then lined up another pitch, the batter took a swing but missed on account of the ball dropping down on the plate before it could be hit.

''Strike!''

The audience cheered briefly, and Lynn managed to barely contain a joyous cry of her own. The situation was going the right way again. Another pitch followed, and the batter swung at the air as the catcher clamped the ball tightly.

''Strike!''

From her spot, Lynn saw the batter becoming visibly nervous. Her team in the dugout grew anxious as well. With sweaty palms, Lynn herself faintly shook along with them in wait for the batter to be out and the inning to end as soon as she could hope it would. Sharon lined up a pitch; Lynn hoped to hear the umpire shout the deliberating word that'd bring her the one big step closer to the end of this inning.

''Ball.''

The high of her double had ebbed away. Being out of the flow put her under strain of her tense situation again. For her own sanity, Lynn hoped that this throw remained an incident.

''Ball!'' The umpire subsequently called.

Whether this was a deliberate strategy by Sharon or not, the audience watched in eager silence for the outcome of the next throw. On the contrary, Sharon's strategy was a thorn in Lynn's side: it cost her too much of her valuable time, even more so if Sharon would keep this strategy up during the rest of the inning.

''Sharon! Stop dicking around and throw them _out_!'' Lynn called at her, not holding back on the irritation in her voice.

Sharon laid her arm on her back and though doing so subtly, Lynn could see that Sharon flipped the bird at her. Cross, Lynn growled and violently cocked her head away; and even then she could barely contain herself with that.

Ignorant of her teammate fuming behind her, Sharon prepared another pitch by two twists of her throwing arm. The ball was sent flying with great speed towards the batter, who threw a swing seemingly on a wing and a prayer.

_Thwack_!

That sound started off the flight of a ball that glided through the air with a big curve; over the diamond, over the far field to disappear behind the fence marking the edge of the pitch, apparently going trhough a windshield judging from a car alarm blaring. The batter didn't even have to bother running the bases, it was a home run for the Glory.

Seeing being so close to what she needed be thrown out of the window, there was no containing herself anymore; Lynn's stress had shot past its limits. Manifesting as unbridled anger, it took over. She undid her mitt, cocked back her arm and threw it at Sharon's head. By the time Sharon felt a leather smack on the back of her head, she saw Lynn coming to the mound with wide, angry steps.

''What the hell was that?!'' Lynn asked with a shove to Sharon's chest. ''She was ripe for the picking!''

Lynn probably would've attacked Sharon if Margo hadn't run up and stand herself in-between them.

''Lynn, calm down please…'' Margo pushed the fuming Lynn gently but firmly away from Sharon. ''I get it that it's coming down to it but you got to keep a cool head or we're done for!''

Margo's words couldn't take Lynn's restlessness away, but they did sooth her back into functioning decently normal again. Her friend was right, it wasn't looking up but she needed to stay as calm as she could. With a quiet, brisk reconciliating embrace, Lynn and Sharon made up.

''Loud! Head back to your place right now or you start on the bench next season!'' Coach Honda shouted from the side, prompting Lynn to do as she was told.

She had vowed calmness for the situation, but seeing Sharon's next best pitch being sent flying, it was certain not to last long.

* * *

It took the Squirrels conceding two more points from four Glory runners before they gained their coveted third out and could switch sides. All the while, they've been on the receiving end of Lynn's complaints, comments and rants.

''That was a _blow_!''

If there was any doubt left how high-strung Lynn was, then the way she hurled her mitt into the floor with an overhead swing took that away. Nonetheless, her teammates remained uncaring to her fury as they sat back in their dugout. Though, teammate Yara secretly was happy she was up for bat next.

''It still would've been more bearable if you didn't ride our asses so much.'' Wanda cynically responded.

Sharon rolled her head with a sarcastic snicker. ''Obviously, you didn't have enough lucky charms on you, Lynn!''

''Cut that tone, Sharon! If you pitched better we wouldn't be deeper in this mess!''

Sharon shrugged it off. ''We've been in a pickle before, chill.''

For the moment, Lynn was so caught up in the match and her ranting that she completely forgot about the goal that caused her raving.

''We're trailing four points! How can I- _oh_.'' Her tirade suddenly dropped to a brief, quiet moan. Lynn hunched forward slightly; without a warning she was struck by a cramp in her lower abdomen. It was faint, but Lynn knew what it was; her period. Her budding womanhood reared itself again, right at this moment that so much was already going on.

_Great_.

Standing right in front of them, Lynn's spontaneous change in demeanor and posture didn't escape her team; they shot her curious looks.

''What's up Lynn? Not going number two not working out for you after all?'' Wanda asked in a mockingly coy tone.

Again her team giggled quietly at her expense, but again she was given an ideal cover-up to suit her situation.

''Yeah. I-I guess.'' Lynn weakly replied.

''Better run Lynn, you wouldn't want Francisco to see you like that!'' Wanda said with crossed arms and a sly smirk.

A growl slid through Lynn's gritted teeth as she walked off. Meanwhile, Margo shook her head and smiled faintly. It wasn't nice to say but seeing her friend's superstitions catching up to her, she hoped that Lynn would learn to not let herself be controlled by them so much.

Lynn scurried into the locker room. The cramp was still present, but the upset was bearable. Inside, she wasted not a moment digging through the jumble of towels and self-care products in her duffel bag until she found her phone. Upon switching the device on, she was notified of a newly received text from William. With a light shake in her hands, she opened the message, anxious to know where she was told to go.

'_Hey dude we're going to Flips. R you coming too. Don't be late.'_

Underneath was another text message:

'_Wait, who dis'_

Flip's… by far not the worst spot Lynn could've been summoned to. She afforded herself to breath a sigh of relief; his store was only a couple of blocks away from the baseball field. She could go for a quick run, do what they want her to do and be back before anyone would miss her. Lynn checked again, stumbling upon a horrible detail:

_Sent: 21 minutes ago._

The panic Lynn just felt ebbing away completely deluged her instead. Time apparently had gone by faster on the pitch than she thought. More pressing was that no matter how much thought Lynn had put in it, she still hadn't chosen how to respond to the situation.

Walking out of the locker room, the hallway that connected to it spanned in two ways. To her left was the field, the way to the stadium's exit to her right. Lynn looked both directions had to make a decision right here and now between the call of the sport and the grip of her debt with no time left to further consider.

She walked towards the pitch, until on a whim, she rapidly spun around and sped towards the exit.

Her team wouldn't miss her for the time being. Lynn could go to Flip's, do what William wants her to do, save herself another ten dollars of debt and be back before anyone noticed.

-Wait, the idea came popped into Lynn's head to take off her Squirrels' jersey first. It'd be less suspicious if she didn't fly her team's colors outside the stadium while they were playing at that very moment.

Bolting into the locker room, she roughly pulled the shirt over her head, probably tearing a few seams in the process, and snatched her casual garb off the hook. She still had to pull her head through when she exited the locker room.

Lynn could be at the store in a blink on her bike so-

Then she remembered when she saw the empty bicycle rack outside the stadium: She came here with her family in Vanzilla! Shaking around frantically, Lynn tried to come up with another solution. It was too late to change plans, she had to make a run for it. It was only a couple of blocks away, she could make it with a sprint, she had the stamina for that.

Racing through the street, Lynn brushed past all the other pedestrians walking the pavement, with force if necessary. Many people shot confused or annoyed glares with the girl nearly pushing them over; some even called after her for it but Lynn didn't even notice. Turning around the corner, the only thing Lynn's consciousness reacted to was Flip's; her eyes trained on the convenience store once she turned around the corner and seeing it in the distance. But having tunnel vision like that, she didn't notice anything around her even if she should. While she was lucky the traffic light was green when crossing the street, her fortune couldn't protect her when she passed an alley.

_Thud_

Being hit by the aluminium of a van's backdoor was a reminder to always be aware of your surroundings when running recklessly through the street. Lynn stumbled a few steps before falling to the ground. She lost track of time while she was down, conscious but reeling from the impact. Breaking out of her daze, Lynn checked herself for any injuries: she felt hurt, but other than a few sore spots, she didn't feel anything worrisome. Her side took the brunt of the hit. She was lucky the van drove very slowly, or she might've needed to go to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the mob crowded around her while Lynn was still on the ground, crawling around partially dazed.

''Are you alright child?'' An older lady asked.

''That was a big blow she got.'' Another person said in the murmur of the group.

''Call an ambulance!'' Someone called.

Immediately, Lynn got on her feet; anything but _that_. Getting anyone involved, especially emergency services, would be the absolute worst-case scenario.

''No! That's not needed! I'm fine!'' Lynn reassured everyone, but her skittish manner diminishing her believability.

''Are you sure? It looked like you hurt yourself.'' The old lady remarked.

''Please, no!'' Lynn fearfully replied. She stepped right into another stranger while she backed away from the lady.

"Sit down lass so the medics can take a look at you." The man said, gently pushing Lynn's shoulders to sit her down. With violent, aggresive swats, Lynn spooked the man to back off.

"Don't touch me!" Lynn began plowing through the people to escape. Many of them had things to say, but Lynn didn't listen, she brushed past many people, shook off any hand that grabbed her until she got out of the mass and made a beeline for Flip's.

Lynn made up for the time she lost, pushing her stamina to the limit, not dropping her pace until she ran onto the tarmac of Flip's parking lot. Resting herself on her knees, she granted herself a break. She was dizzy, her heart felt like exploding but she had made it.

But neither William nor Franklin were anywhere to be found.

Lynn looked everywhere, inside the store, on the parking lot but there was no sign of them on the premises. Lynn cursed under her breath. They probably were fed up with waiting for her.

"Shit. Damn." Lynn muttered.

The gravity set in. Lynn's repeated curses became gradually louder. She held her head and violently rocked it back and forth out of frustration over realizing that she had come here and even risked serious injury for nothing.

She snapped out of loathing the situation quickly and sprinted back to the stadium as fast as she could, but Lynn had pushed herself too hard on the way to Flip's; she could _want_ to run like the wind, but even Lynn couldn't exert herself any more when the pain in her chest left her short on breath. On the flipside, Lynn could now remain a little more attentive to her surroundings.

* * *

Making it back was the easier part of Lynn's return strategy. Making it look like she never left in the first place was going to be more tricky. She was gone for a good while, even when under the pretense of going to the bathroom.

Lynn skulked through the corridors. She was relieved to not have been seen yet when she reached the locker room door. First, she had to put her team jersey back on. Maybe then, she could try to go back on the pitch and hope-

''I thought you wouldn't come back this time!''

Startled beyond compare, Lynn saw Margo sitting on a bench. The way Margo glared her down, with arms crossed and brows deeply furrowed, she clearly had been waiting for Lynn.

''Margo! I-''

''I knew you were up to something; the whole time! You left!'' Margo shot up and walked up to Lynn: her arms thrown back, her hands balled, teeth gritted. ''Don't try to deny it! You slipped out of the stadium, you abandoned us again _again_!''

Nothing was in Lynn's favor, especially not the fact that she was in her regular clothing instead of her baseball getup. She tried her hardest to think up a excuse on the fly. Despite her recently gained experience, it were only disjointed stammers coming from her mouth.

''Well, explain! What shady excuse you got this time?'' Margo demanded, pinching the fabric of Lynn's shirt between her fingers.

Lynn was intimidated with Margo's shouts, threatened even. She inched back to grant herself some room to think: Margo would see through her lies, but telling the truth didn't seem like a serious option either. Recomposing herself with a deep breath, Lynn solemnly placed her fingers on her chest.

''It's a long story, I'll explain it to you soon!''

She could hear from Margo's incredulous scoff that the answer was unsatisfying. "Well, I got time."

Lynn wished she hadn't heard her. She tried to divert the question by heading for the door and beckoned Margo to follow her. ''Let's go back to the pitch!''

''It's a little too late for that!'' Margo announced sardonically. Lynn stopped in her tracks, a heavy feeling grew in her gut with the ominous implication. Margo hung her head to the side, disappointment sneaking in on her wandering glance. ''Glory won the championship.''

The anguished feeling became even heavier at the dreaded announcement. Lynn's face went pale. ''What- how?!''

''You were up for bat Lynn, but you were nowhere to be found! It went _real_ fast from that point on! Sharon was sent instead of you so we got our second out for batting out of order, and Sharon's ball was caught right after. We didn't score a single point; the Glory didn't even have to play their offense anymore.'' Margo explained, wandering her sullen glance over the floor and crossing her arms. ''They're being crowned champions right now. I went here because I couldn't stand losing like this.''

Lynn peeked out of the door, and indeed, from her place she could see the Beaverton Glory, dancing on the confetti-coated pitch with a trophy in their grasp. Lynn clasped her hands to her scalp. Overwhelmed by the sight of her cheering rivals, everything looked like it was spinning around her.

''This is what I talked about. You rout us the entire match, but then you're gone when we need you!''

Again, Lynn stammered in search for an answer, but again, it wasn't needed as Margo left Lynn no chance to respond. ''What're up to all the time? Are you doing drugs or something? Disappearing to get your fix, is that it?''

Lynn remained quiet. Unsure how or even if to answer. Either possibility seemed like the worst choice.

''Whatever, I don't care anymore.'' Margo mumbled. She made a fist and gave Lynn a sharp, painful jab to her shoulder. This wasn't a friendly blow like they usually gave each other, Lynn knew damn well that this one was driven by enmity above all else. ''I hope you'll find other friends to let down because I'm not up for it anymore!''

With mouth agape, Lynn cast a hurt glance as Margo thumped out of the locker room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Lynn's breathing became ragged and uneven. She began to tremble visibly. From the depth of her throat, Lynn pitched one furious, anguished cry. Her instinct demanded she punish herself for her blank; she smashed her head into a toilet stall door, the force behind her headbutt left a big dent in the plastic. It wasn't enough to banish her grief. She fell back on a bench, she dug her fingertips into her scalp while rocking her head back and forth, pitching furious, grieving moans with an occasional sob in between. Lynn had never felt more ashamed as much as she did now.

* * *

The ensuing address from coach Honda wasn't pretty either. Lynn wasn't spared in the passionate outburst, the vow that Lynn should consider herself very lucky if she'd be a benchwarmer let alone be still on the team next season were an additional humiliation towards everyone on the Squirrels, that Lynn once again owed everyone an answer to.

Even so, without coach Honda's firm rebuke, Lynn obviously had lost all respect the Squirrels had for her. All the while they were in the locker room, they didn't say anything nor reply to anything Lynn said. Not even when they all left one by one seemed they willing to acknowledge Lynn's presence. Lynn wondered how much dogging them around during the match had worsened this, or whether Margo badmouthed Lynn with them or if their scorn was purely their own.

When she had changed and headed out, her whole family awaited her at the stadium's entrance. They walked up to her with worry, as if Lynn had gone missing for weeks.

Their father's voice managed to stand out in the jumble of questions and consolations from Lynn's sisters.

''Lynn-erino, there you are! We were worried sick! What was going on when they couldn't find you?'' Her father asked as Lynn walked right past him, treating him like air the same way she had been moments ago.

She stopped walking, figuring that she owed them an explanation. She gave one, very brief with a dirty glare to match. ''I got the _shits_!''

Her angry gait alone was compelling enough to force some of her sisters to get out of her way as Lynn climbed into Vanzilla while the family looked on in utter confusion.

Having a déjà vu, Lincoln watched Lynn with an increasingly sceptic glare, he crossed his arms and shook his head; he felt he had to clarify certain things before it was too late. ''I'm not taking the blame for this one.''

''Don't worry kiddo,'' His father replied, a short, flat chuckle slipping out while giving Lincoln a pat on the shoulder. ''the nice lady from child protective services made that very clear to us the last time!''

* * *

There Lynn sat in Vanzilla: by the window, folded arms, wallowing in her sorrow, and her anger. No one said a word and no one especially dared asking Lynn in fear of provoking her. It made the short ride home awkward and eerily quiet.

With a quiet shriek escaping from the brakes, Lynn Sr. stopped the family minivan on the driveway. Everyone else got out and headed for the front door, but Lynn lingered behind on the driveway, sauntering with her head drooping down to the asphalt. Seeing her lag behind made her parents exchange looks. Lynn Sr. figured Lynn could use some words and approached her.

''Hey L.J.'' Her father softly said. Lynn granted him a peek out of the corner of her eyes when her father squatted down to her. 'It's a shame that you lost your championship match again, Junior, but you can't win 'em all. Sometimes luck is just against you.''

Lynn remained silent and looked back to the ground. Seeing that his encouragement didn't seem to work, he slowly began to doubt his own parenting skills.

''But I bet you'll get them next time, three times' the charm!'' He fumbled out.

With a long sigh, Lynn looked up to her father. She appreciated his effort but it wasn't what she needed right now.

''Dad, I want to be alone.'' She glumly requested.

''That's alright. Take your time.''

Lynn Sr. softly ran his hand through his daughter's ponytail, rose back up on his feet and headed back inside with the rest.

Among the regular clutter spread out over the driveway laid a tennis ball. Lynn picked it up to throw it at the garage door. A bounce on the tarmac, rebound off the garage door and flying back in Lynn's hands with a gentle arch. She didn't mind the loud, metallic bangs of the ball on the garage door, the repetitive motions instead calmed her down. But someone who did irritate himself on it opened a window above her.

''Loud! Stop it with that racket!'' Mr. Grouse called while leaning out of the window, but Lynn was so deeply consumed by her grief, she hear her neighbor or even notice him and thoughtlessly continued bouncing the ball off.

''Loud? Am I coming in clear? Stop it!'' Mr. Grouse repeated. By raising his voice he caught Lynn's attention.

Shooting a tired glance over her shoulder, Lynn growled darkly at her peace being disturbed.

''Drop dead, old fart.'' She shouted back at him. Offended, Mr. Grouse retreated back into his house, muttering something indignant.

Having been riled up by her peace being disturbed, Lynn grabbed the ball tightly and threw it down at the ground with a powerful throw. It ricocheted off of the door with major force, causing it to fly well over Lynn. She tried to jump up to catch the ball, but painfully reared herself into Vanzilla's hood as the ball sprung off from the windshield and slowly rolled over the driveway.

Staggering from the pain, Lynn could throw another relieving tantrum to cope with her enduring misfortune, but it had been a very taxing day and Lynn was exhausted; mentally, physically as well as emotionally. Instead, she leaned against Vanzilla and morosely slid down to the ground.

A listless sigh escaped Lynn as she reflected on today. Losing the championship per se didn't matter to her anymore. Lynn cared that she lost the respect of her team-

No, she could do without that as well. Lynn cared that Margo was furious, and she wasn't wrong to be. Lynn broke a promise made to Margo, and by breaking it so blatantly she ruined their friendship. They haven't been friends for so long, but Margo helped her through her first year of middle school and Lynn would be forever grateful for that. But now? Now Lynn wasn't sure anymore if Margo could ever forgive Lynn or even talk to her anymore after the way she acted.

What was she thinking when she bolted out of the ball park like a fool? It was doomed to fail, there was no way she could run William's errand and make it back to get on the plate on time. She just went the moment her instinct commanded her to without a thought for what she'd cause. Losing Margo's friendship, her team's respect, the championship and her money issues; all problems because of a debt she was so stupid to take on.

Sitting on the driveway in the afternoon with her arms wrapped around her legs, the warmth of the late spring sun was the only consolation Lynn had at the moment, but even then a shadow cast over her, shaped like a tall male.

Lynn expected her father, either to tell her that dinner was up or with another sloppy attempt at cheering her up. But turning her head, her breathing stopped briefly at the discovery of it belonging to Franklin, standing there in her own front yard. Lynn got on her feet as William's husky lieutenant towered over her. Contrary to William, who usually glanced down at Lynn with that loathsome smugness and contemptuous glance, Franklin's glower was threatening and foreboding.

After overcoming the initial shock of Franklin's sudden appearance, Lynn became largely indifferent to him. She could expect a visit for missing them, but it didn't take away that they were the last people Lynn wished to see today.

''Hey Lynda, I'm here to check up on you. We were a little worried, because you weren't at Flip's.'' Franklin said.

Lynn stuffed her hands in her pockets. With her head tilted down, she glared up at Franklin. ''Sorry Frankie, I was held up before I could run.''

Franklin picked up the ball laying at his feet. He casually went to lean against the passenger door of Vanzilla, facing away from the Loud house, and repeatedly tossed the ball down to the tarmac.

''You left us waiting for 20 minutes; 20 minutes of our precious day: _gone_… and it's going to cost you.'' Franklin spoke calmly but his voice carried an ominous hint, his speech accompanied by the taps of the tennis ball bouncing off the driveway.

''Whatever, just put ten bucks on my tab. I'm not in the mood for this, _bye_.'' Lynn lazily turned her back on Franklin as a way to show she was done with the conversation.

Franklin's furrowed brows turned his expression grimmer. He grabbed Lynn by her shoulder and made his debtor face each other with minor force.

''It has gotten a little more serious than just those ten dollars, squirt. Will really wasn't happy that you ignored us.'' Franklin explained. The unsettling vocal tone became dominant and he began to look legitimately intimidating.

''Well I'm not happy that you cost me my championship. I guess we all got our own problems!'' Lynn callously said with a big shrug, too fed up with everything to be receptive to Franklin's intimidating behavior.

Franklin idly fixed his hair in Vanzilla's mirror. ''He must've started carving by now; I think he had settled on etching in 'No-show'! Appropriate, isn't it?''

As Franklin looked at her, tried to gauge a response in Lynn: she briefly considered Franklin's words. Surprised, the much feared threat of her bat being defiled didn't upset her as much as she'd think; in fact, it did _nothing_ to her. In a beat, a powerful comprehension struck her.

Lynn replied with a light shrug of her shoulders. ''Whatever, I don't care.''

Franklin was legitimately taken by surprise, shooting an inquisitive look. ''Hmm?''

''What do I need it for anyway? The tournament's over! Keep it, cut it, burn it, _hell_, choke on it for all I care. I don't want that bat anymore, I'm _out_!''

''And how about what you owe us?'' Franklin asked, sounding increasingly violent.

''That's not my problem anymore Frankie! Sell it if you want money so bad! Just don't involve me your shady business anymore! See you never!'' Lynn spat at him. She rudely brushed past Franklin and walked towards the house. But before she had made two paces, Lynn was grabbed firmly by her neck and slammed in the side door of Vanzilla. Held by her shoulders, Lynn was face-to-face with a hostile-looking Franklin.

''We can't sell a used bat. You owe us, and we will get it in cold, hard cash! Don't think for a second that you can just walk away.'' Franklin explained while Lynn wrestled to break free, but there was no escape from his iron grip.

''Let me go, lard-fat!'' Lynn growled through her clenched teeth.

Franklin only replied with a scathing chuckle. ''What are you gonna do? Cry for help? _Tell on us_?''

He wasn't mistaken.

''DA-''

Acting quickly, Franklin used one hand to clench Lynn's throat before she could draw out her yell. Lynn expected to be let go shortly, but Franklin wouldn't let his grip soften, his smile grew a faint, wicked flair as Lynn struggled to break free. She began to writhe panic: her limbs started feeling numb from a lack of oxygen. With a purple hue setting in on her cheeks, she banged on the side of Vanzilla, begging to be released. Having enjoyed seeing Lynn squirm for air long enough, he let go of her.

Lynn fell to the ground. Once she hit the tarmac, she hackled for a desperately needed breath of fresh air, rubbing her throat as Franklin went to stand over her. He left her no room to escape, but that wasn't on Lynn's mind right now anyway.

''Get up!'' Franklin barked at her. He continued talking as Lynn slowly propped herself back on her feet. ''I'll repeat, the only way you get out is by paying us off. When we call you, you come to us. When we say 'jump', the only thing coming out of that yap of yours better be 'how high'. Am I clear?''

Lynn answered with a weak nod of her head, but Franklin didn't seem pleased.

''Am I clear?!'' He repeated, louder and even more threatening this time.

''Y-yes!'' Lynn called. She tried her hardest to keep up a tough façade, but the way she looked up to him with a white palor to her face and overwhelmed shimmer in her eyes gave away that Franklin's intimidation got through to her.

''Otherwise, things like this may start to happen.'' Franklin reached down to get the tennis ball and with a pitch threw the ball to shatter the window at the side of Mr. Grouse's house.

''Who broke that window? _You_ did.'' Franklin said.

''Me?'' Lynn exclaimed. She didn't yet understand what Franklin was after, but she'd figure it out soon.

''Exactly. More windows may start shattering 'suddenly' if you stay away; maybe sooner or later, kneecaps will too!'' Franklin darkly told her.

''W-what.'' Lynn murmured, overwhelmed.

He quickly scanned the area before he abandoned Lynn with a quick pace in his feet. ''Don't let it get that far, stay in touch.''

But Lynn didn't even fully grasp his warning or even him leaving. The disturbing threat lingered in her head; the rapidly increasing anxiety deafened and blinded her to everything, even Mr. Grouse telling her off for the broken window didn't even fully register with her. All that was on Lynn's mind was how grave her situation might've just become.

* * *

**Despite what Lynn's reaction would imply at the start of this chapter, I'm not against Clyde X Lynn actually!**

**Usually when I struggle with any writing task, I usually frustrate myself first, then start doubting my skill and consider to stop writing altogether. For this chapter, I've experienced that no less than **_**four**_** times!**

**One of the reasons I took so long to write this chapter was because I struggled **_**a lot**_** writing the Lynn and Franklin scene. I couldn't make a choice whether Lynn should get angry at Franklin or not, and in what way. After weeks of revisions, rewrites and other delays I settled on what you just read!  
**

**But it's here, it's done, and it can only get wors- I mean more interesting from here. Leave a review, fave, follow or vote at the poll if you'd like! If you got time to spare, then please consider taking a look at my other stories as well; Thanks in advance!**

**:D,**

**Q.W.**


	6. Chokehold

**In Deep**

**Even when the world around me is closing down to the Corona crisis, I keep on writing.  
As if I don't usually spend my time sitting by myself in a room! **

**So… Singled Out happened; it was a pretty nice episode! I like the suggestion that episode gave that Lynn might be asexual (Or, more appropriately termed for Lynn's person, ace) or aromantic. I'll see if I'll change the plans of the remaining few chapters where it applies to suit that idea.**

**Onwards to the chapter itself!**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Chokehold**

* * *

50 dollars.

That was what her parents had to fork over to Mr. Grouse for the window repair. They didn't punish Lynn, but their stern rebuke implied that Lynn likely was going to pay them back a share, if not fully. Just what she needed, even _more_ debt.

The whole family sat at the dinner table, a pleasant chaos of chatter going on at the same time. But having lively conversation with each other at the same time proved to be difficult for some to do without spitting out bits of food. As always, her father's cooking was sublime, but Lynn couldn't bring herself to enjoy the cauliflower stew with chicken cordon bleu in front of her no matter how delicious it looked. Her stomach felt full already. Instead, Lynn rested her head on her arm, slowly stirring her fork in the meal to take the occasional small bite.

Even when Lynn sat in the middle of the energetic litter unnoticed and was hidden away at the far side of the table, a mother's keen senses didn't fail to notice Lynn's languid attituded and sober appetite. The rest had almost finished their meal where she still had a plateful.

Rita swallowed and gave her fifth daughter a concerned look. ''Lynn dearie, your food's getting cold. Aren't you going to eat it?''

Lynn rolled her eyes to her plate. ''No… I'm not hungry.''

Sitting next to her, Lana got a twinkle in her eye. ''Can I have that?''

With a sullen groan, Lynn shoved the plate to the middle of the table. In the Loud family, doing so meant yielding your meal for others to take. The Loud siblings already arched over the plate with forks drawn and licked lips.

''Dibs on the meat!'' Lana called without a shortage of aggression.

The dispute over who deserved the cordon bleu quickly soured the previously good spirits. The siblings vying for the meat were arguing busily. Lola climbed up on the tabletop to assert dominance. Even Lily involved herself, angrily babbling from her high chair along with her siblings either claiming her right to the cordon bleu or perhaps to simply goad the already hostile mood at the table. Mom and dad ignored the feud, opting to calmly eat their meals until one of their roost came out victoriously, to immediately ground them to set an example for the rest.

Lynn shoved her chair away from the table and the squabble going on over it, peeking around her disputing sisters to make eye contact with her parents.

''Can I go take a shower?'' Lynn asked. Her parents exchanged a quick look before granting Lynn's request with a nod of their heads.

As the first punches were being exchanged, Lynn dragged herself up the stairs with a arm wrapped around her belly. Her stomach was acting up. Even though she should be starving after a match day, her appetite was dead. She was sure that this period was going to be the worst she ever had. It was the only explanation she could give for feeling this horrible; the rotten cherry on top of her day.

By closing the bathroom door, Lynn shut out the strong language and ethnic slurs coming from below. After turning the faucet on so the water could warm up to the right temperature, Lynn began to undress. She struggled to pull the jersey, clammy from absorbing a day's worth of misery, over her head Lynn felt a tinge of pain in her shoulder.

With her shirt off, Lynn took notice of her bare shoulder. To get a better look, she went to stand in front of the mirror, it looked plum colored, a result from being hit by the van earlier. Lynn stroked her finger over the swelling, a pang of pain surfacing when she prodded slightly in her skin. She knew such bruises however; they'd heal.

Lynn's gaze then wandered over to her neck, her peachy skin showed a fading redness, left from being throttled hard by Franklin.

''Bastard…'' Lynn mumbled. She twisted her head to view her sore from different angles, and felt a light sting in her neck while doing so.

It hurt, but it wasn't the first time she was handled as roughly as she was. Maybe being throttled was why she couldn't swallow without feeling like she could throw up. No big deal, Lynn thought; Franklin got her good but it'd go over and she'd happily pay him back in full once the time was there, once she felt better. She'd win in their game.

But while thinking about it, her stomach began to gurgle badly.

''Oh…'' Lynn moaned sorely, hunched forward slightly, pitching another miserable groan.

Lynn didn't just look like a wreck, but also felt the part. Her body was ailing with injury and her innards churning. Lynn took off her last pieces of clothing and stepped into the tub. She had already showered after the match, and fortunately no one questioned it, but she needed another hot shower to hopefully sooth her pains somewhat.

* * *

Using up most of the hot water was definitely going to get her flak, but Lynn needed it. Unfortunately, it didn't make her feel much better. The water rinsed her aches somewhat, but inside she still felt subpar.

Dressed to go to bed in a oversized jersey, Lynn flopped listlessly out of the bathroom. She stopped between the stairs and her bedroom door. Looking down to the living room and the liveliness below, Lynn briefly considered joining her family for a short while. But reflecting on how she felt, she craved the comfort of her bed more. The sound of steps announced someone coming up the stairs: it was Lori, idly tapping away on her phone when she and Lynn crossed each other.

''Hey Lynn, are you coming down to watch The Dream Boat?'' Lori asked, allowing herself to look up. Lynn was surprised she could even do so anymore.

Lynn rolled her head, breathing a sigh to give off the idea she considered Lori's question, but the spiritless glare she gave left her preference unambiguous. ''I'm beat, I want to go to bed.''

''I'm sure you probably can spare for one episode!'' Lori followed her reply up with a coy, inward giggle. ''I hope Gareth's going overboard today because he's _such_ a know-it-all and-''

Lynn's head was already pounding from Lori's chatter. She groaned and stepped inside her room. ''I wanna go to bed Lori! I'm bummed out, and I've got serious cramps!''

Lori lowered her phone while her eyebrows went up instead in surprise. ''That never stopped you before.''

''Well now it did!'' Not granting Lori a chance to respond, Lynn slammed the door shut.

Normally, The Love Boat was one of Lynn's favorite shows to watch but right now, 45 minutes of near-constant raving about relationships didn't seem bearable at all the way Lynn felt, especially with the chance of the topic shifting over to Lynn's alleged relationships; she couldn't handle that right now.

Another cramp raging through her lower body provided the next good reason to quickly seek the comfort of her bed. She wasn't yet bleeding but Lynn opted to get herself prepared. She reached into the dresser, but the drawer where she kept her toiletries was empty:

_Of course_. No money meant no products.

Despite so resolutely shutting the door just moments earlier, it opened again on a chink. Seeing no one around, Lynn tiptoed over to the room of her two next-oldest sisters to 'borrow' a few toiletries off of them.

* * *

The only thing capable of snubbing the telltale racket in the Loud residence was nightfall. The only sounds being made in the house were that of light snores, not that any of the children would admit that they did so, and the occasional murmur caused by their dreams. Lynn was the only one left awake, she laid motionless in her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she had given up trying to fall asleep herself. She simply laid still and relaxed. Either she'd save energy for the day to come, or hoped that she'd doze off eventually anyway.

Lynn felt her body slowly go numb and her awareness fade. A small smile on her face, finally this day was over to never come back. She had almost completely slipped into slumber, everything had gone blank when several knocks on the door sounded. She pitched a groan when she raised her upper body to look at the door, light seeping through the chinks. Too sleepy to give the strange time any thoughts, Lynn called. ''Who?''

The door swung open violently, blowing most of the sleep out of Lynn. In the doorway stood a big figure, the light from the hallway cast a ominous yellow glow around the shadowy silhouette. Once Lynn's eyes adjusted, her pupils dilated with shock and confusion, her breathing stopped, her jaw fell. It couldn't be him, but there he really stood in her own house, _in her own room_.

Franklin.

''W-what the hell are you doing here?!'' Lynn called, shooting upright in her bed. She waited for Franklin to respond, to do whatever Lynn expected he'd do. But he said nothing, he did nothing; his menacing presence was enough to make Lynn feel her heart throb in her throat.

Out of nowhere, surprised by a loud shattering of glass coming from very close by, Lynn was startled into pitching a short, alarmed yelp. Before she could register that it was her bedroom window inexplicably reduced to splinters, Franklin suddenly moved from his place. With ominously heavy footfalls, he slowly approached.

''G-go away!'' Lynn's voice was reduced to a frightened stammer. She kicked the sheets off of her and pressed herself up against the wall. It was a matter of mere inches, but anything was progress if it meant getting as far away from Franklin as possible. ''Stay back!''

Franklin stood at the end of her bed. Lynn was shaking bad enough to make the springs in her mattress bounce. Lynn wanted to get up and fight back, but for strange reasons, her body didn't agree with what her instincts demanded. Franklin's mere presence stunned her. She looked around frantically, but escaping Franklin seemed impossible. There was only one thing she could do.

''Help!'' She loudly called. _Someone_ must be awake to hear: to help beat this guy up! She could almost feel Franklin's hoarse breath. Desperate, she turned her head to the bed of her roommate: the last one who could save her.

''Lucy! H-'' Lynn paused when she discovered that Lucy's bed was empty, unslept even.

''Hey Lynn…'' Franklin spoke, darker and more twisted than Lynn remembered him talking.

The girl's head turned back right when Franklin raised his arm and forked his fingers. Lynn's mind went blank when immediately his hand shot towards her, going for her throat. Lynn flinched, there was going to be no escape from another horrendous throttling.

''NO-''

Lynn flung the sheets off the bed while shooting up to standing on her matress. Her eyes went up and down scanning the bedroom, fists drawn out. Growing confused when the initial panic simmered down, Lynn slowly recollected herself to check the room. Franklin wasn't standing next to her bed, the room had once again been covered in darkness; no more light coming from the hallway. Hearing light snoring, Lynn cast a very slight smile of relief upon noticing that Lucy once again laid in the bed next to her as well; sleeping, appropriately, like the dead. It was safe.

Her gut churned again, her heart only began to beat slower, and Lynn noticed her hand had a light, uncontrollable tremble to it. Lynn laid back down in her bed again, pulled her sheets and wrapped her arms around her hoping to calm down a little.

Previously Lynn would assume it was from something like a lack of nutrition, but she couldn't fool herself anymore. Her appetite gone, her stomach churning, it wasn't because of her lost championship or her period. it was because of being choked and threatened by Franklin, on her own front yard no less. At the height of the bullying, middle school was hell all day long, but it ended with the final ring of the bell. In the class she was fair game, but once she got home she was safe from her bullies. Franklin had breached that sanctity, and it took a nightmare for Lynn to finally admit it that he had scared her doing so.

* * *

''_I heard through the grapevine something nasty went down. We're talking it out tomorrow. Drop by my place at 11 AM._''

William's text message was the first thing Lynn saw after getting out of bed. It was a unsatisfying introduction to the next day after a sleepless night. She tossed around so much in her sleep that she had twisted herself into her sheets, shifting between being tormented by feverish dreams during restless sleep or being awake and feeling the same cramps, burns and tensions in her as she has been feeling prior, along with a lump in her throat, feeling like she was about to puke, all the way up to daybreak.

On the way to Sawyer Drive, Lynn slammed down the third consecutive energy drink in one gulp, leaving the few drips inside to the ants tossing the can down to the street. Her parents would probably berate her unhealthy habit so early on the day. But after two nights of poor rest, Lynn needed some energy for this moment.

''Get yourself together! You can do this!''

In aggressive inward grumbles with matching pumps of her arms, Lynn tried convincing herself that the nightmare scared her worse than how she actually was, that opposite of what she resolved to yesterday, Franklin only caught her on a bad moment. Nonetheless, standing at the entrance to Sawyer Drive, a tension surfaced in her side. She inhaled deeply, feeling the sting fade at the top of her draw only to return once she exhaled. For a little bit of extra luck, Lynn picked up a pebble to throw it over her shoulder, as well as flicking a mailbox flag up and down three times. Her attention wandered over to her hands, still shaking unstoppably. Lynn hid both in her pockets; showing fear was certainly another admission of weakness to William and Franklin. She couldn't do much, but she could limit the damages.

Having done her ritual, Lynn went down the street. The moment William's house came in sight, so did William himself, sitting with Franklin on the hood of a small car on the driveway.

''Well I'll be! Lyndon!'' William greeted her with a cordial wave. Franklin remained staring stoically.

Lynn remained quiet, her bold attitude faded partially already as she approached the front yard. She turned her head away to hide her face, scrunched up from the complete disgust she has developed for them upon even seeing them.

When William caught a glimpse of Lynn's face, he stood on his legs and appeared concerned. ''Come on baby girl, why the grimace?''

With a quick, deep inhale, Lynn gained the courage over her nervousness to speak. ''I think you know.''

William sat back on the car, causing it to bounce slightly, and crossed his arms. ''I've heard some things. A little birdie told me Franklin had been a little touchy-feely with you.''

Hearing William talk with that superficial smile of his severely annoyed Lynn to the point of overriding anything she previously felt. ''That 'little birdie' _choked_ me!'' She lividly declared, swinging a fist through the air.

Unexpectedly, William looked shocked with the accusation. He reeled back slightly, and gave his companion a gaze. ''Whoa, you didn't say _that_; Jesus! Franklin Rand, what are you thinking assaulting clients and scaring them?''

Mouth slightly agape, Lynn expected one of William's usual seedy talks but seeing him openly putting his lieutenant down she could not foresee. Without the feeling fully registering with her, it felt like a pleasant surprise. Franklin himself seemed even more baffled with William's outburst than Lynn was, uttering a few confused stutters and slow hand motions.

''Wh- Sorry Will.''

''You should apologize to her, rude bastard! _Damn_!'' William exclaimed. He pushed himself off the car before placing a hand on Lynn's shoulder, guiding her in the direction of the backyard. ''I'll tell you what, you're up for something simple.''

A few steps in, Franklin got on his feet and followed the others closely as they walked into the garage. Once everyone was inside, William rolled down the garage door. With the room closed off, Lynn got jittery, worsened by the ominous shade cast over the inside, with only a few rays of light peeking through the sole small window.

Lynn immediately darted into a corner, arms pressed to her torso. ''What're you gonna do?'' She asked, a nervous tremble in her speech.

William slid away from her, making soothing hand gestures. ''Chill out! Do us this one small favor!'' He calmly spoke. Crouching down, he picked up a nondescript box and shoved it towards Lynn.

Lynn took turns leerily eyeing both the box and her loan sharks, the latter remaining cool and unmoved. Carefully, expecting something nasty, she opened the flaps. Inside were only a few clothes, upon quick inspection a costume. Her mistrustful scowl softened to a annoying glare.

''Really?'' Lynn flatly asked, holding in one hand a red, pointed hat, and fake, gray beard in the other. Together with the wide pants and blue, buttoned coat with belt still in the box, Lynn recognized it as a gnome costume.

Franklin couldn't stifle a brief guffaw at the sight of the props. William only cast his usual smirk. ''It's appropriate isn't it?''

''What do you want?'' Lynn asked. Her eyes soured again, angry and reluctant over what she expected William to tell her.

''What you're supposed to do with costumes; wearing them!'' William answered with a shrug. Lynn groaned, she threw her head back in disgust over the task. It was small for sure but also very demeaning.

''Hey.''

Lynn looked at William. Unexpectedly, he came over more reassuring and calm as opposed to openly enjoying Lynn's woe. ''I know what you're thinking, but don't blow your lid.'' William struck an arm out to the garage door. ''Put it on, for us and not for the rest of the world to see. Grant us some quick yucks at our little inside joke and you're done. Easy.''

''Let's do this then.'' Lynn mumbled. Lynn relented without a second thought, though she remained unfazed with William's solemn speech. She accepted the job fearing that if she didn't, she'd be up for something more menial. Slowly, she picked up the coat and unbuttoned it to put it on.

''Do you go outside or…'' She asked with a sideway glance.

''Screw that. Put it on over your regular clothes.'' Franklin replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Lynn was okay with it, but for a faint feeling of privacy she turned her back towards William and Franklin as she put the costume on, unaware of the hawkish glimmers the boys got in their eyes when doing so.

Lynn struggled getting into the outfit. She was never fond of dressing up, remembering a time when she gave Leni a hook when she and Lori tried to give Lynn a makeover. Even on Halloween she kept her costumes very simple because she didn't like being restrained by restrictive clothing.

Once she had fully dressed up, she squeezer her eyes together, giving herself the strength to bear their laughter before she presented herself to the boys, hanging around in her dark corner.

Franklin didn't hold back showing his humor, laughing loudly in small fits. William was more subdued with his amusement, simply putting up his common sleazy grin, chuckling quietly while he browsed on his smartphone.

''Hey Lynn, come out in the light so we can get a better look at you!'' William said, beckoning her to come closer.

With sluggish, steps, she obliged. The sunlight illuminated the faint blush on her cheekbones.

Once in the light, Franklin began to circle around Lynn, looking her up and down with an occasional snigger. Lynn tensed up. Franklin pacing around her made her remember her burning stomach. Shortly after, Franklin kept some distance between the two, but Lynn didn't let her focus wander, compelled to keep her gaze on him convinced that something bad could happen.

''Looks like we've found the biggest garden gnome in the world, Will!'' Franklin said between his loud snorts. ''Isn't this something for your gramma?''

''Ha ha ha.'' Lynn said, trying to keep her voice level between fury and dread. ''Was that it?''

Peeking up from his smartphone, William cocked his head gently. ''Sure.''

Lynn didn't need to be told twice: she started quickly undoing her costume, discarding the pieces on the ground like trash.

''So that means we're done here right?'' Lynn asked. After wiggling her leg to get it out of the baggy pants, she went to stand at the garage door ready to leave the moment she'd get the word.

''Not quite.'' William answered. He crossed his arms, smartphone in hand and closed his eyes. ''Apparently, you're not as attached to your dear baseball bat as you were when you bought it. Franklin here told me you don't want it anymore, saying we could keep it.''

''Uh-huh.'' Lynn confirmed William's story with a nod of her head.

''Well, that's so kind of you Lynda!'' William acted overly sugary by crossing his hands on his heart, though he sounded comparably no more endeared than usual. Quickly, he reverted to looking calm to match his speech. ''I mean, Frank and I are football guys at heart, but we appreciate the gesture! Though sadly that you're not so gung-ho on working to get it back also means that you've got no reason to come back anymore.''

In the silence that followed, Lynn peeked her head up. She didn't believe her ears hearing William admit faults so easily.

William's brows lowered, and his arms crossed. By now, anything sympathetic William had moments prior had faded. ''Still, I think it's better that you keep seeing us,''

The confidence of having gotten the upper hand made her feel better than she has felt in days! Lynn saw his glower and pitched a quick, scoffing laugh at this suggestion. ''Or else what? You said it yourself, you've got nothing on me! Once I'm out of here, I'm not coming back!''

William did a few taps on his smartphone, following it up by showing Lynn the picture on the screen, making her freeze up in horror. ''Well I don't think you want to become the laughing stock of high school when you're starting your freshman year!''

Lynn stared breathlessly at the picture of her in the gnome costume. Even when William took the phone away and retreated slightly, she kept her blank, aghast stare glancing into nothingness at the floor. When she began breathing again, they were in rapid succession. Her chest bounced up and down from the hyperventilating and the fire she's been feeling inside in her stomach flared up again. That Franklin specifically choose to stand next to the switch for the garage door was no coincidence to Lynn. There was enough space in between them, but by all accounts, Lynn felt trapped in her corner.

''No…'' Lynn whimpered. Any longer she didn't get to process this threat as William surprised her with a sudden approach. Lynn fell back down and crawled into her corner, stunned with terror. William could effortlessly place his finger under her chin to force their faces to meet. Lynn was powerless to resist.

''Now you listen, little bitch. New set of rules: if you stay away one day, we'll add 30 dollars to your bill. Be a no-show the second day, or give off the mere suspicion that you've narked, and you're up for four years of the whole package: laughter, gossip, pranks meaner than my neighbor's guard dog; someone like you will probably get acquainted really well with the inside of her locker or the toilet stall she goes to cry in every day! Keep that in mind when we want to wherever we need you!'' William explained. Lynn hissed when he pinched her chin and gave it a strong jerk to the side, slamming her into the garage door with minor force.

Lynn laid on her side, gasping and moaning in pain trying to support her upper body on her wobbling arms as William backed away. ''I-is that it?''

William stuck his finger up. ''One thing; let's raise your due to 100 dollars.''

''Why?!''

''Just because we can, dumbass! We're in charge over you, and there's nothing you can do 'bout it!'' He answered, his voice raised slightly. Lynn reeled in terror realizing that he was right. ''Hopefully that little increase will help remind you not to try to welsh on our money anymore.''

Franklin turned the switch and the garage door slowly rose. ''Now get out of here, we don't want you pissing yourself on Will's clean floor!'' He callously barked at her.

Lynn scurried through the small opening. She rose to her feet and walked off with a steady pace in her steps. Needless as it was, Lynn tried her hardest to look as casual as possible.

''See you soon, baby girl!'' William called after her. Lynn unsurely looked over her shoulder seeing Franklin and William standing at the garage. Suddenly, Franklin threateningly rushed forward a few steps. Lynn flinched and abandoned all attempt to act cool and run away while Franklin stepped back and shared a laugh with his friend.

* * *

Lynn hated herself; she was embarrassed by how easily she fell for William's ploy. Him talking Franklin down to lull Lynn in a false sense of security. In reality, William probably had congratulated him on intimidating Lynn so well.

She began to feel her body aching again. Faint echoes of malicious laughter, detailed Images of everything the threat described bounced through Lynn's head. All these feelings worsened when Lynn thought once more of having to go through all the torture again. Middle school was cruel already, but if the gnome photo spread out, she'd never be able to go high school in peace. Lynn's face scrunched up. She held her pounding head dreadfully thinking of the the shame. Yet, there between the blend of bad memories and a terrifying prospect came one clear image that stood out in her muddled mind.

''Margo.'' She wheezed.

Lynn has been broken. The threat of another year of bullying had submitted her into finally admitting to herself that she couldn't do this alone. Her family was out of the question though: Lynn's total debt to her sisters was even bigger than that to William. Even worse, the risk of him finding out she talked before the family could be of help was too big. Margo on the other hand felt like the safer option, she had helped her a lot before. Even so, Margo was still very mad with her, rightfully so. Lynn's only hope was that Margo would at least listen to her

Going into the local park, Lynn came across the batting cages where, as she correctly predicted, Margo practised her swing with teammate Yara.

''Margo!'' Lynn repeatedly shouted, running at the other side of the chain link fence separating them. Aside from a very quick glance, Margo resumed what she was doing and completely ignored her. Lynn reached the cage's gate, upon swinging it open wildly. ''Margo!''

Margo couldn't act like Lynn wasn't there anymore when her former friend was standing right in her face. Margo stared her down, radiating hatred. ''Hasn't it gotten through that I don't want to talk to you after what you did, Lynn?''

Margo's hostility greatly startled Lynn. She bowed slightly and folded her hands on her belly. It wasn't natural for Lynn to act this submissive but she was trying to desperately appease Margo. ''I'm sorry, I'm _so_ sorry-'' She fell silent when Margo angrily threw her bat against the chain links, the wooden bat rattling the wires. Lynn was startled by Margo, and Yara wisely kept her distance from the two.

''Save me your stupid apology! Coach Honda was going to pass you up in the selection because you didn't show up at our last practice, but I convinced her to still put you in the line-up. I shouldn't have done a good word for you if I knew you'd repay me by running out on us, and I still don't know why!''

Lynn was in baffled silence. She didn't take time to consider why she was included in the team yesterday despite not going to the training like she was told. This reveal felt like another blow.

Margo picked her bat up from the dirt, leaning on it.

''Please Margo, I'm in big trouble!'' Lynn begged.

Margo remained frosty to Lynn's plea, a contemptuous glower on her face.

''So?''

Lynn tensed up. She felt the pain from Margo's cold indifference surface, and it was probably the worst one of the many.

''You've got a major snatch thinking that I'll help you after what you did. Where were you yesterday, when we needed you so desperately? Well, if you need help, then go ask your sisters for help, or 'Franny', because I don't want to run the risk being set up again! _Goodbye_!''

After that vile farewell, Margo turned her back on Lynn and left her in stammers.

''But-'' Lynn tried to follow her friend, but Margo turned around quickly and sharply pointed her bat at Lynn.

''Go away before I throw you out myself!'' Margo said, finishing with a strong nod of head.

Lynn could wait all she wanted, but Margo's scowl wasn't softening. Instead, when it furrowed, Lynn took it as a final warning and left on a humble shuffle, which slowly built up to a nervous jog once she exited the cage again all the while Margo's eyes were trained on Lynn; stone cold.

Lynn idly wandered through the park, feeling lost and horrible. Reaching a bridge that spanned over the park's central pond, her churning body demanded she'd stop walking as her pains reached their peak. Her heart beat so heavily it hurt, feeling like it was pumping venom through her system. Her stomach boiled intensely and she felt a very oppressive lump in her throat.

Margo didn't even want to listen to her. Her harsh rejection terrorized Lynn again, she grew dizzy and nauseous. It felt like her heart was beating in her throat, soon followed up by a lump going up her esophagus quickly. The lump wasn't a mere feeling anymore, but something tangible about to burst out. Lynn began to gag. She lurched for the edge of the bridge and threw her upper body over the railing. Lynn's body stiffened completely. After a quick retch, she vomited a burst of thin, dark yellow bile into the pond below that loudly splattered on the surface. She kept spewing, expelling a few more bolts of mucus from her system until she was completely empty.

After the last dry heave, Lynn went limp, rollinh along the railing down to the bridge floor, too exhausted to stand on her legs. Even sighing and the occasionally hack felt like a trial. Even with the puke out of her, Lynn didn't feel any better in the slightest. She felt weak and sickly from the anxiety, the looming threats and repressive stress. It was wrecking her; it had literally made her sick.

She had never felt this afraid, and there was no one having her back.

* * *

**I hate puking.**

**Originally, William was to send Lynn on an errand **_**on top**_** of threatening her. I'm sad that I had to scrap it because it'd add a nice extra layer to the tone of William's new line of errands for Lynn. Unfortunately it didn't fit in along with Lynn seeking Margo's help and the blowback it had on her, and when I had to scrap either of those two scenes, the errand was dropped.**

**Well alright, that was another chapter! I got several scraps for the next few chapters already, but I won't really start working on it until after I've done working at this one-shot I_ really_ hope to upload by April the 8th! It'll be a Lubenny story, but no it won't be about anything having to do with April fools!**

**Now, leave a review, fave, follow or check out some of my other works if you'd like!**

**Until next update!**

**:D,**

**-L.W.**


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